In business we all try to leverage our
assets – and go for the gold.
As a mid-size market we’ll never attract the NBA, MLB or NFL, but being anchored by an NCAA Division I
university has made us a great college
sports town. Our city also has become an
Olympic training ground for some of the
world’s finest athletes and coaches.
This edition is in part a celebration
and a salute to our Olympic hopefuls.
Their dedication and commitment to
excellence make us proud. Steve Rivera
provides us with a preview of some of the
stellar performers with Tucson ties who
are going for Olympic gold in London –
more than 50 athletes in a wide variety of
sports (on land, sea and air).
The best sentiment of all comes from
three-time Olympic medalist Bernard
Lagat, who tells us, “In the other Olympics I was just happy to be there. I just
wanted to do my best. Now I want to
win. It’s my No.1 priority. This is the moment.” He’s trying to become the first
American to win the 5000-meter run
since Bob Schul did it in Tokyo in 1964.
Lagat is preparing for his fourth Olympic
games.
Vying for coveted Olympic team status
is Brigetta Barrett, a University of Arizona junior majoring in theater arts. At
press time, she had the No. 3 best high
jump in the world.
Then there’s Tucson’s tourism team
at the Metropolitan Tucson Convention
& Visitors Bureau and their new strategic partnership with UA Athletics Crew.
The MTCVB team and Greg Byrne &
Co. have collaborated to create a vision
for what our community can become.
Hosting and producing more championship sporting events will attract more
visitors to our expanding selection of
venues, causing our region’s revenues to
climb.
Other strategies, including focusing
on the film industry and partnering with
the university’s Hanson Arizona Film Institute are outlined in the report. In our
special report on tourism, you’ll also get
the opportunity to meet Brent DeRaad,
the new president & CEO of MTCVB.
DeRaad has a passion for the industry
and a vision for our Sonoran desert. He’s
calling for an increased marketing investment in 10 major markets. Tourism is our
region’s $2.5 billion industry, and is definitely goin’ for gold.

The BizTucson “dream team” of Rivera, Christy Krueger, Teya Vitu, Edie
Jarolim, Gabrielle Fimbres, Romi Carrell
Wittman and “Coach” Donna Kreutz
lead the way with medal-worthy reports.
This issue has something for every
reader’s taste. Vitu reports on Len Jessup, the UA business college dean, as well
as UA Engineering Assistant Professor
Erica Corral. Vitu also provides us with
an interesting glimpse of the new CEO
of the Critical Path Institute, Dr. Carolyn
Compton. Eric Swedlund files a compelling report on UA breast cancer researcher Joyce Schroeder.
You’re sure to be inspired by Fimbres’
profiles on four Father of the Year honorees, selected by the Father’s Day Council
Tucson. Besides being role model dads
and true givers to our community, they’re
committed to efforts to fund vital type 1
diabetes research at Steele Children’s Research Center.
There’s a wide variety of business covered in this edition: the arts, investment,
medicine, automotive, construction,
aerospace, real estate, accounting, technology and more.
To top it off, for all who dream of
writing the great American novel, we
have a real-life mom who walked away
from a career in banking to self-publish
three novels. Read a fascinating account
of how creative marketing – along with
Amazon and Kindle – got Kate Mathis
“on the radar,” as they say. Her first novel
climbed to No. 14 out of the Top 100
Kindle e-books.
Have a terrific summer, and don’t
forget to start it in your own backyard.
Check out the resort update on page 101
for some cool staycation ideas.

BizDOWNTOWN
Even with streetcar construction underway, is downtown’s trademark event
– 2nd Saturdays – still an essential
Tucson gathering point? You betcha.
The hip, grit-and-glam monthly festival is tweaking its configuration to keep
its popular urban entertainment scene
alive during downtown street closures.
Tucson’s quirky 2nd Saturdays continues to inspire a return to a successful
combination of life, arts and business,
said Michael Keith, CEO of Downtown Tucson Partnership. Even independent entrepreneurship and small
businesses are getting a boost from the
urban street fest that now accounts for
bringing 15,000-plus downtown each
month, he said.
“We’re beginning to see the power
of this long-term event and how people
are attaching themselves to it to achieve
other goals,” he said.
Revived in May 2010 by an enterprising group led by Providence Service
Corp.’s Fletcher McCusker, this latest iteration of a trendy Tucson block
party is fueling the economic engines of
many local businesses. Once a happening that overtook downtown regularly
– it’s based upon Downtown Saturday
Nights begun in1988 – today 2nd Saturdays is the crux of three-legged formula for downtown vitality, Keith said.
One leg is an increase in event staging downtown: “We’re now looking
at more than 40 events September
through May bringing about 250,000
people with them. 2nd Saturdays is at
the heart of the momentum.”
Cross-marketing opportunities for
current businesses plus the emerging
recognition that retail is sustainable
comprises the second leg. “2nd Saturdays regularly coordinates merchant
promos, bar specials and venue happenings. You have everyone now saying
‘hey, there’s opportunity here.’”
The third leg of the formula is how
2nd Saturdays sets the stage for an
entertainment-culture corridor that
provides spinoff benefits. “This unique
and artfully rich happening translates
directly into support for local businesses,” Keith said.
Although streetcar construction is
bringing challenges, diverse enterprises
are encouraged by the vitality being injected into a downtown once languishing.
www.BizTucson.com

“With 2nd Saturdays generating
more business, it is an antidote to economic hard times,” said Huna Hammond, founder of Event Horizon Productions, who along with partner Gary
Wagner, has provided lighting, sound,
video, power and production management for Tucson corporate, education
and entertainment events for more than
a decade.
The 2nd Saturdays opportunity
helped businesses like his survive economic hurdles and in his case boosts
business by 30 percent, miraculously replacing revenue from other events that
have not survived the budget reductions
in the public and private sectors. “It’s
the bread and butter that form the spine
of cash flow,” said Hammond, who explains that 2nd Saturdays’ consistency
is what is so appealing to businesses like
his. “It’s a tremendous shot in the arm
financially.”
Joanne Diggins of Diggins Environmental Services is no entertainer, but
she represents another example of 2nd
Saturday business success. Diggins established an environmental services di-

Fits and Starts
1988 to early 1990s – Downtown Saturday Night spotlights Congress Street art galleries. The event
is managed by Tucson Arts District
Partnership.
1999 to 2006 – A new Business
Improvement District is created and
a series of urban street parties continue to be staged by the newly created business improvement district,
the Tucson Downtown Alliance.
2008 – After a few years’ hiatus,
revivalists stage Congress Street Urban Block Party, focused on bringing
back a family-friendly atmosphere
complete with performance artists,
gallery openings and street vendors.
2009 – 4th Avenue Underpass reopens. Fletcher McCusker plans to
move his Providence Corporation
downtown and spearheads a committee along with former BID director
Donovan Durband aimed at reviving
weekend street fests.
May 2010 – The program is retooled as 2nd Saturdays and creates
a new urban vibe.

vision in 2009, and her venture supplies
portable restroom and handwasher
service to 2nd Saturday events. This
has added more than 3 percent to her
monthly revenue base, but the branding
opportunity is the big plus for her business.
“Being a 2nd Saturdays vendor has
given us invaluable exposure in the
community, and helped open the door
for servicing other events such as Spring
Fling, UA tailgating, St. Patrick’s Day
Parade & Festival and more,” said Diggins, whose family business has more
than 30 years of service and three generations in Tucson.
Orlando Saldarriaga manages another business with plenty of what
an urban street fest needs – table and
chair rentals. Orlando and Cria Saldarriaga, who began Party Express Rental
Equipment 13 years ago, see tremendous advantage in regularly scheduled
events like 2nd Saturdays. “It’s exactly
like having a gem show, only business is
every month,” said Saldarriaga.
2nd Saturdays intends to provide a
bit of relief as downtown feels the impact of the streetcar construction project currently underway. “We are using
2nd Saturdays to bridge discomfort
during upheaval, said Keith, noting
that the event is moving stages, streetside performances and street-vendor
areas in conjunction with construction
to best support businesses.
During construction, four parking
garages will be open and accessible
– Centro Garage, located just as you
enter downtown from the east; Depot
Garage, located below Martin Luther
King building; the Pennington Garage,
accessed via Pennington Street from either Stone Avenue or 6th Avenue, and
La Placita Garage on Jackson Street.
Information and event maps are updated regularly at www.2ndSaturdays.com.
The ultimate goal is a permanent
transportation system supporting a vibrant urban core – made even more
electric by events like 2nd Saturdays.
“The walk-ability of it, the add-on
benefits – it’s all positive vibe,” said
Keith.

Biz
Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 27

Author Kate Mathis

Between
the Lines
28 BizTucson

PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS

By Gabrielle Fimbres

<<<

Summer 2012

BizAUTHOR
Surrounded by stacks of laundry and
with endless diapers to change, Kate
Mathis needed a break.
The young Tucson mom spent the
week caring for her adorable twin
daughters, reading nursery thymes and
playing patty cake.
When the weekend came, that was
her time.
With husband Brent left behind as
chief cook and bottle washer, Mathis –
armed with her laptop – would sneak
off to the corner fast-food joint for
refuge. It was there that Agent Melanie Ward was born in her first novel,
“Living Lies.”
“I don’t know what my goal was,”
Mathis said. “I wanted to get away from
diapers and bottles and laundry.”
With the babies now in middle
school, Mathis is the author of two
Agent Melanie Ward novels, with a
third due out this summer. She also has
delved into the world of young adult
literature with “Moon Over Monsters,”
now on Kindle and due out in print this
summer.
Mathis, a third-generation Tucsonan
and Salpointe Catholic High School
and University of Arizona grad, was
raised in a family of postal workers
who believed in steady jobs with good
income. After college, Mathis chose
banking.
Once her girls were born, Mathis
found that much of her paycheck was
going to daycare.
“I wanted to do something where I
could work and still take care of the
girls,” she said.
Born were the weekend writing marathons at McDonald’s.
“All of my characters have some of
me in them,” Mathis said. “I’m just not

telling which parts.”
The road to becoming a published
author, as one might expect, was not
simple.
After she thought she had finished
“Living Lies,” Mathis attended a writer’s workshop at Pima Community College. It was there that she discovered
novels are at least 80,000 words. Hers

weighed in at 60,000.
It was back to McDonald’s for rewriting. Mathis would spend the week
thinking about her characters then
write about them on weekends.
Soon it was time to put Melanie out
there, and Mathis submitted “Living
Lies” to about 60 literary agents. They
all turned her down. “They tell you
don’t take it personally – but how can
you not take it personally?”
After she received the final rejection,
her husband posed the question: “Why
don’t we just do it ourselves?”

Mathis and her husband, published
“Living Lies” in 2009 and PowWow
Publishing was created.
Together they have handled all marketing and distribution. They have attended book festivals, author signings
and special events at retirement homes,
art festivals – you name it.
Through it all, Mathis continued
writing the adventures of Agent Melanie Ward in “Second Chance,” published by PowWow in 2011.
“Melanie does things I can’t do,”
Mathis said. “She’s adventurous. She’s
brave.”
The adventures of Agent Melanie
Ward appeal to women of all ages, but
the neighbor guy across the street loved
it, too, Mathis said.
She calls the genre “light mystery,
romance, humor, with a chick lit edge
to it.”
Bonnie Lewis, reviewer for TheVirtualScribe.net, had this to say: “Author
Kate Mathis has emerged as a master storyteller, packing each page with
plenty of action and leading her characters through life at a hasty pace.”
No book is without its critics, which
Mathis said has been perhaps the
toughest part of the journey.
“You put all this out there and then
it gets judged,” she said. The judging
part is hard, Mathis said, but is softened
by the many readers who tell her they
couldn’t put the book down.
She receives emails from readers
around the world, who tell her how
much they enjoy getting to know Agent
Ward and that they can’t wait for book
three.
Today, Mathis writes about five hours
a day, seven days a week. She sometimes
writes from the brick home she shares
continued on page 30 >>>

Moon Over Monsters, Book 1 of
Christina’s Chronicles – a modern
day fantasy, about a girl, a dragon
and an elfin prince

www.BizTucson.com

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 29

BizAUTHOR

continued from page 29
with Brent, 12-year-old daughters Samantha and Sydney and Weimaraners
Jack, Libby, Tori and Luxa.
The characters in her books are never far from her mind.
“I’ll be driving trying to figure out
her next move,” Mathis said of Melanie and her friends. “I go to bed thinking about them and I wake up thinking
about them. They’re like friends.”
She is also working on the next installment in the “Moon Over Monsters” trilogy, inspired by a little girl
that Mathis and her daughters met a
few summers ago. “She had the girls
believing she was a fairy, and I thought,
well, maybe she is.”
With dragons and elves and fairies,
“Moon Over Monsters” is the story of
a girl who finds out why she is different as she joins her journalist father on
a journey to Germany to report on a
dragon sighting.
“It’s fun,” Mathis said. “You can
have a crazy, kooky idea, and it works
in that genre.”
Mathis is unsure how many copies
of her books – in hardback, paperback
and electronic versions – have been
sold. Melanie Ward novels are sold on
Amazon, but the greatest number of
sales comes from Kindle.
“The eReader has changed the game
for little people like me,” Mathis said.
“It’s a new world. It’s like your own
book festival at your fingertips. The
eReader is cheaper and you make more
money.”
“Living Lies” was given away during a free promotion on Kindle for
five days recently, with 25,000 copies
downloaded. Mathis said the promotion boosted sales of her other books.
Writers can earn a living self-publishing, Mathis said. “The key is you
have to have enough books so readers
can go to the next and the next and the
next. If you have enough product and
people like your work, you can make
money. And self-publishing allows the
author to keep control of the content,
the cover, everything.”
Her next challenge is a screenwriting
class in Los Angeles this summer, coupled with writing the next adventures
of her characters.
“Everything you do, you have to
have fun,” Mathis said. “This is fun.”

The Loft’s
High-Tech Art Vision
Celebrating the World through Film
By Monica Surfaro Spigelman
Don’t be fooled by The Loft Cinema’s funky Old Pueblo
grit. It only adds to the charm of this independent local cinema that is on its way to building a big-city high-tech art vision
for the community.
Always a cultural resource that went beyond showing quirky
movies, The Loft has fast-forwarded on its dream to build a
non-traditional cinematic complex. A $2.5 million Building for
the Future Campaign is underway – with more than $800,000
already raised toward that goal.
Prepare to be wowed by forward-thinking renovations that
signal big things for this Tucson arts showcase and lively gathering spot.
Originally opened as an art house in 1972 on Sixth and
Fremont, The Loft went through various iterations before at32 BizTucson

<<<

Summer 2012

torney Joe Esposito purchased it and ran it as a private independent theatre. The Loft moved to its current location on
East Speedway when the University of Arizona needed the
original site for additional parking.
In 2000, when a core group of movie devotees saw a “for
sale” sign go up on The Loft, they were devastated. “About six
of us started thinking about what we could do, and in 2002 we
made our move, incorporating as a nonprofit and buying the
cinema,” recalled Peggy Johnson, one of the original devotees
who now is The Loft’s executive director.
“We knew without The Loft it wouldn’t be the Tucson we
love – so we had to find a way save the cinema,” said Johnson,
whose background was in art-films and broadcasting before
she joined The Loft.
www.BizTucson.com

“

We want to give the community
ways to experience art and ideas
from around the world in a venue
that not only retains the neighborhood
character but makes it a more exciting
and fun place to live, work and visit.
–

That core group formed The Tucson Cinema Foundation
and became The Loft’s new owners. Next step was ensuring a
programming mix of critically acclaimed foreign and independent features and documentaries. Then the foundation further
enhanced the experience with visiting filmmakers, collaborations with community groups, film festivals (including the free
nine-day Tucson International Children’s Film Festival), film
series (including First Friday Shorts – now in its eighth year,
Late Night Cult Classics and Mondo Mondays) and more.
Even with all the arts initiatives, The Loft needed to keep
its edge. Running 220+ first-run films a year and 115 special
events was taking a toll on the small physical space.
The Building for the Future Campaign, Johnson said, will
allow expansion, improve accessibility, make necessary repairs
and update digital technology.
“We are repurposing and renovating as much as possible,”
Johnson said. “We want to give the community ways to experience art and ideas from around the world in a venue that not
only retains the neighborhood character but makes it a more
exciting and fun place to live, work and visit.”
The Loft’s Building for the Future projects will be completed
in three phases. First is revamping the adjacent J&L automotive repair shop, which will transition into a state-of-the-art
black box theatre, with two fully accessible restrooms. An attached covered patio will be a flexible screening space for special events. Also moving ahead this summer is paving a new
parking lot, located on adjacent vacant land the Foundation
purchased in 2010.
The second phase will renovate the existing building. The
Loft’s main 500-seat theatre will have new seats, acoustical
treatment and other improvements, including infrastructure
wiring and air conditioning. The upstairs theatre is envisioned
as a “living room” with sofas, armchairs and coffee tables positioned so that each has perfect sightlines.
According to Johnson, the entire complex will be a model
of accessibility and technology. “We’re consulting with local
groups and individuals to ensure that The Loft accommodates
every citizen,” she said.
All three theatres also will have digital projection and sound,
with an acoustical engineer consulting on the design. “This
includes upgrading 35mm projection to include reel-to-reel so
that we can borrow rare prints from archives,” Johnson said.
The final phase will construct a connecting building bewww.BizTucson.com

”

Peggy Johnson, Executive Director, The Loft Cinema

tween the existing Loft and the new black box facility. This
will include a large lobby with a gallery, a larger box office
and concession stand, more restrooms, offices and community
meeting rooms.
A spate of standout events are planned when The Loft unveils Phase 1 this fall. A ribbon cutting for the black box theatre
is planned during the Loft Film Festival (November 8-15), on
the festival’s closing night – which coincides with The Loft’s
40th anniversary.
After the candles are blown out, The Loft expects to continue finding exciting ways to help celebrate the world through
film, Johnson said. One goal is to make the film festival a destination festival with economic impact on the community. Another is to evolve The Loft’s successful Science on Screen series
into Science on Screen Jr. to help younger children build an
interest in science.
All this reinforces support already received from donors, including Cox Communications, which made the lead gift to the
campaign. “Arts and culture are the foundation of a livable
community,” said Lisa Lovallo, VP of Cox Communications.
“A prosperous community that has good jobs, good governmental structure and good educational institutions also enjoys
strong arts and culture.”
Gadabout SalonSpas has pledged $20,000. “It is amazing
when neighborhoods get together and make a commitment to
better our community and support the arts of Tucson. It is
great to look back at the end result and know that you made a
difference,” said Frank Westerbeke, Gadabout co-president.
Johnson sees The Loft’s role as connective tissue in Tucson.
“The Loft has the capacity to inspire, educate and bring the
community together with the power of film,” she said. Biz

Building for the Future Campaign
The Loft Cinema – Established 1972
Donate online at http://loftcinema.org/thefuture
For naming opportunities and program sponsorships:
Contact Development Director Debi Chess Mabie:dcm@loftaz.com.
The Loft encourages donations that are fulfilled
over several years; any amount is welcome.

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 33

BizEDUCATION

Boosting Education
Critical for Tucson
By Ethan Orr
Greatness does not just happen,
Bearden tells teachers. It is a choice.
The principles of her training are
this: First, never lower the standards for
teachers or students. Second, create an
atmosphere that makes families a welcome part of the educational process,
and lastly, create a culture of lifting up
others in the school and in the community.
These principles, while difficult to
achieve, will have a lasting impact on
the lives of the children who will be
the community leaders of the future,
Bearden said.
Calvin Baker, superintendent of Vail
School District, which has been ranked
as the top school district in the state, appreciated Bearden’s perspective, “We
are constantly looking for methodologies and technologies to improve edu-

cation. Kim Bearden reminded us those
efforts must be built on the foundation
of unabashed passion and commitment.”
Pima County Superintendent of
Schools Linda Arzoumanian reported
that only 77 percent of students in the
county graduate high school. “What
happens to the ones that don’t, or worse
yet, the ones that do but graduate unprepared for life? We can and must do
better.”
The lunch also celebrated educational systems that are working in Tucson. Three schools – BASIS, Sonoran
Science Academy and University High
School – are in the top 50 high schools
nationwide and two school districts,
Vail and Catalina Foothills, are in the
top 10 districts in the state.

When deciding whether to move to a
new city, the top consideration for any
company is the talent level of the workforce.
If the workforce is well trained, they
will come.
The Tucson Metro Chamber has
made education and workforce development a top priority. At this year’s
State of Education Luncheon presented by CenturyLink, award-winning
teacher Kim Bearden discussed why
teachers are important and how to support them.
“Think about how many lives are
changed for good or for bad because
of teachers,’’ said Bearden, who trains
teachers in motivation and classroom
management at the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta.

<<<

Summer 2012

www.BizTucson.com

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 35

BizSALES

Sales
Moves
Creating Ongoing
Positive Attitude
by Jeffrey Gitomer

I’m in Las Vegas, where nine of the ten largest hotels in
the world reside. Each competes against the other for huge
contracts. Business meetings. Conventions. Super Bowl. New
Year’s Eve. High rollers.
Las Vegas – a one-of-a-kind destination.
Then the economy crashed. And everyone’s business
dropped significantly.
Slowly, the economy is rebounding and Las Vegas is experiencing a spurt in business. But the competition is still fierce.
So what are these big hotels doing about it? The answer is
pretty much nothing special. Bidding wars. Price reductions.
Other concessions in order to differentiate themselves from
one another and woo the big customers.
Each hotel offers amenities and attractions that are unbelievable. Broadway shows. Rock concerts. Prize fights. Great
food. And accommodations the likes of which you have never
seen.
So what’s the difference? I believe every hotel is overlooking THE difference. The difference is service – and the perception that someone cares. That’s memorable service and
service recovery.
REALITY: These big hotels have policies. They have to in
order to deal with thousands of people every day. These big
hotels have procedures. They have to in order to deal with
thousands
of people every day.
REALITY: There’s a severe lack of friendliness. There’s a
severe
lack of sincerity. There’s a sincere lack of attitude.
REALITY: The employees take very little pride in serving.
They’re just “doin’ their job for their pay.”
So much for Las Vegas. Let’s talk about you.

YOUR REALITY: If you employ people who sell, serve and
talk to customers on the phone or in person, the key to their
success is their attitude, their desire, their friendliness, their
sincerity
and their love of job.

So, the first question any employee has to ask is: How do I
feel about myself ?
Because if they don’t feel good about who they are, the
rest of their tasks will be executed somewhere between poor
and mediocre. Their expressions, their interactions and their
casual talk will all be based on negative feelings.
Not good.
The answer is simple, but not simplistic. All companies
(yours included) need to change the way they look at training
their people.
Most companies have training programs all about how to
do a job and circumstances regarding the business (your business). There’s zero about serving with pride, having a great

36 BizTucson

<<<

Summer 2012

www.BizTucson.com

attitude and feeling good about themselves, first.
For your company to surge past your competitors and be
perceived in your market (and by your customers) as the best,
here
are the 6.5 internal actions you must take starting now:
1. An ongoing positive-attitude course. Something that each
person
perceives is for their life – not about their job.

2. A course in personal pride, and ongoing events to support it.
Teach your people the difference in pride between owning and
renting. Encourage them to take ownership. KEY IDEA: Recognition. Make certain that achievement and improvement is
rewarded
in public.
3. Benchmark “how to respond” to 25 specific situations. Write
down the most common customer interactions and create (collaborate to uncover) “best responses” for each. Train everyone
in
these responses so that there is a common positive language.
4. Create specific empowerment. Once you’ve finished the
common language answers, empower every employee with
these answers AND other specific recovery options and actions
they are allowed to take.
5. Establish a positive workplace environment. Replace old,
worn out stuff. Fix broken stuff. Serve free food and drink.
Celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. Make your workplace
positive
so that your employees can be positive.

6. Total company involvement. Leadership must embrace the
process and take the training too. This sets the example – and
the
environment.

6.5 The understanding that communication starts mentally.
Create an awareness that each person holds the key to company morale – and that a positive atmosphere starts with positive
thought.

BIG SECRET: For the past 20 years, I have espoused the
philosophy and strategy of “tell me what you CAN do, not
what you CAN’T do.” This one strategy will change your responses from negative to positive.
I am willing to bet that your company could stand an injection of “positive.” Go to www.gitomer.com and enter the
words Attitude Starters in the GitBit box for a few more ideas
on what you can do right now.
Happy people create positive results and vice versa. Happy
people create loyal customers and unlimited profit opportunities. How happy are your people? How positive are your
people?

Jon & Heather Volpe
Receive Click for Kids Award
By Christy Krueger
Thirty-plus years ago Jon Volpe spent every day after school
at what is today known as Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson.
Now, as CEO of NOVA Home Loans, he’s one of the organization’s most generous contributors. For that, the clubs are
acknowledging his support.
Volpe and his wife, Heather, were selected as this year’s recipients of the Click for Kids Award, created in 2009 in honor
of long-time supporter Jim Click. The award recognizes an
individual, couple or organization that has made a substantial
impact on club members.
“It’s easy to give your money, and Jon Volpe and his wife,
Heather, and their company have obviously been very financially supportive of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson and
many other charities,” Click said. “However, to give of your
time, energy and effort on the board, raising money and bringing awareness to the club like Jon and Heather have done is
38 BizTucson

<<<

Summer 2012

truly a gift of the heart. I congratulate them on receiving this
wonderful award.”
Volpe is a prime example of the positive influence the BGCT
makes on Tucson’s youth. He believes that without its support,
he might have ended up in a bad place as others without direction often do.
“My older brother opted not to go there and he’s been in
and out of prison since he was 17. Had I not gone to the clubs,
I probably would have tagged along with my brother and
wouldn’t be where I am today. It kept me off the streets and
was a place to hang out.”
Heather added, “It’s a way for kids to stop the cycle of dysfunction. People take them under their wing and show them
things they wouldn’t otherwise experience.”
While Volpe didn’t continue at the clubs in high school because of his participation in sports, BGCT and its mentors
www.BizTucson.com

PHOTO: CARTER ALLEN

BizAWARD

“

Had I not
gone to
the clubs,
I probably
wouldn’t be
where I am
today. It kept
me off the
streets.
–

”

Jon Volpe, CEO, NOVA Home Loans

were still part of his life.
“I wanted to go to football camp and didn’t have the
money. Jim Click sponsored me to go. He wrote a check.
I received awards in high school and he was always there,
remembering my name and encouraging me,” Volpe said of
the man he considers his hero.
Click’s involvement continued after high school, when
Volpe earned a four-year football scholarship to Stanford
University as a running back, leading the Pac-10 Conference in rushing one year. Volpe went on to play in the Canadian Football League and in the National Football League
with the Pittsburg Steelers until an injury sent him home
and he began working at NOVA Financial. Meanwhile he
had married Heather, whom he met while both attended
Amphitheater High School.
Once he was settled back in Tucson and earning a steady
living, Volpe started to look around and appreciate how far
he’d come. “I wanted to give back because of the support I
received – from teachers, coaches, Jim Click, Boys & Girls
Clubs. We started giving financially.”
Later, NOVA began sponsoring major club fundraisers
and the couple started volunteering as judges for the clubs’
Youth of the Year Awards.
“It’s a very emotional day,” said Heather. “You get to hear
what they do for the kids.”
For Jon, the kids’ stories bring back memories of when he
was in their shoes. “Listening to their backgrounds, I can
relate to what they say. That was me – I was in the same
situation.”
Quite appropriately, Click was the person who notified
Volpe about his selection for the Click for Kids Award.
“It meant a lot to me that he told me – because I grew up
wanting to someday be like him and helping the Jon Volpes
of the world. Nobody does that more than Jim Click.”

BizPHARMACEUTICAL
A big change is in the air at the Critical Path Institute, the
Since 2005 Woosley built a C-Path that covers 17 time
organization charged with bringing the entire pharmaceutical
zones with 41 pharmaceutical giants on board to share drug
world together to deliver safer drugs to market faster.
research data, successes and failures. This has assembled the
Its founder and chief executive for the first seven years –
largest databank in the world on Alzheimer’s disease. Clinical
Ray Woosley – stepped aside Feb. 1. Woosley cringed when
trials that used to take three years to get off the ground now
he saw the C-Path board trying to find another Ray Woosley
can get launched in three months.
to replace him.
C-Path essentially is the meeting planner for dozens of
“Don’t do that. You need someone who can take this orgagroups of scientists to confer on a monthly basis, if not binization to the next level,” Woosley said.
weekly.
Enter Dr. Carolyn Compton. She arrived at her community
Up to now, these meetings have revolved around research
reception wearing a leopard print jacket and horn-rimmed
and development scientists – but not corporate leaders.
glasses. As she was introduced, her gastrointestinal medical
“This is something I’m aiming to change,” Compton said.
specialty was described as “butts and guts.” Compton herself
“This is still not the big decision makers – not the CFOs, not
mentioned her executive training coach by name in her comthe CEOs. This is something I need to change.” Her plan is
ments and said outright “I’m not a drug developer” – pre“to take the activities and the work of these people higher
cisely the world in which C-Path is steeped.
up in the organization to make sure the decision makers and
She is not Ray Woosley. Or
those who control the funds unanybody else on the Tucson
derstand the full-blown potential
mover-and-shaker circuit.
of this. My own personal view of
You will never be bored in
this is the sky’s the limit. We are
a conversation with Carolyn
only limited by the ingenuity and
Compton, who became C-Path’s
the way we go with this.”
chief executive on Feb. 1. Just ask
Compton wasn’t always in the
her if she’s just a C-Path caretakcorporate world. Indeed, Comper for a couple years, given her
ton is not at all shy in crediting
65 years – though she fully emexecutive coach Lynn Newman
bodies the maxim 65 is the new
for giving her the tools to succeed
45.
in the corporate world. At Comp “My goal in life has never ever
ton’s reception, Newman said
been to retire,” Compton said. “I
about Compton: “I’ve never seen
come from a line of women who
a personality test like this.
lived well beyond 95. I’m a very
“She’s a game changer,” Newhigh-energy person.”
man said. “She has the ability to
Compton indeed is zeroed in
engage and connect with people
on taking Woosley’s dream child
and to see connections across into the next level – but first she
dustry and government and make
has to make sure C-Path even
those connections at warp speed.”
makes it to 2014.
Compton’s transition from aca The most critical element for
demia – first to the National CanC-Path’s next level is a new revcer Institute and now to C-Path
enue model. C-Path has largely
– is entirely due to Anna Barker,
operated on its $20 million startsince fall 2011 director of the
up funds from 2005, notably
Transformative Healthcare Netincluding $7.5 million raised
works at Arizona State University
from the Tucson community.
and its Complex Adaptive Systems
– Anna Barker, Director,
That money is largely exhausted,
Initiative. Before that, Barker was
Transformative Healthcare Networks
other funding sources have withdeputy director at the National
Arizona State University
drawn, and the promise from
Cancer Institute and she plucked
2005 that other funding would kick in after five years did not
Compton away from McGill University in Montreal.
materialize.
A few months ago, Barker got to talking to Rick Myers,
“If I don’t raise money, C-Path won’t exist in a year,”
C-Path’s former COO and a university regent. Barker said he
Compton said. “I’m looking for new money from the FDA,
should take a look at Compton for C-Path’s new CEO.
and I’m revisiting sources from the past. I see this as a critical
“She’s the kind of person who really wants to change the
period. I need $3 million in a fashion that is unencumbered.
world. She has a consuming belief in this mission,” Barker
“C-Path has been successful. We’re growing activities. The
said. “She’s a pathologist – but she’s also a visionary in the
FDA wants us to do more. Industry wants us to do more. We
way we need to change medicine.”
cannot be laying people off. That would be a downward spiral
Myers quickly saw in Compton the same things that attractfrom which we cannot recover. I bet my career on this.”
ed Barker’s attention.
continued on page 42 >>>

“

She’s the kind
of person who
really wants to
change the world.
She’s a
pathologist –
but she’s also
a visionary
in the way we
need to change
medicine.

”

www.BizTucson.com

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 41

BizPHARMACEUTICAL

“

If I don’t raise money,
C-Path won’t exist in a
year. The FDA wants
us to do more. Industry
wants us to do more.
I bet my career on this.
– Carolyn

Compton, CEO, Critical Path Institute

continued from page 41

”

“I really tell you she has such a strong track record at
NCI and McGill and all the way back to Harvard,” Myers
said. “The great work she has done in trying to advance
medical research at NCI makes her a great addition to the
C-Path team.”
One would not have guessed Compton was accolade
bound when she arrived as a freshman at Bryn Mawr
University, not because it was a Seven Sister, something
Compton was oblivious to, but because Bryn Mawr was
her neighborhood university, about 5 miles from the family
home.
“I come from a blue-collar family, not part of the academic elite,” Compton said. “I didn’t know anything about
academia.”
Bryn Mawr is a strong feeder school to Harvard, where
Compton ended up the first woman among 19 men in
Harvard’s then-new combined MD/PhD program designed to train the next generation of scientists to function
in the medical and corporate/government world.
“It made all the difference in the world,” Compton said.
“MDs think PhDs are doctors who couldn’t get into medical school. PhDs think MDs are all dilettantes. To have
credibility in both worlds you need both degrees.” (Interesting, founder Woosley also earned both MD and PhD
degrees.)
The closing decades of the 20th century had Compton
at Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital as director of gastrointestinal pathology. She dropped all that to go
to McGill in Montreal as the first “super chief ” as pathologist-in-chief and Strathcona Professor of Pathology.
“The biggest factor was I wanted a leadership position.
Harvard doesn’t make women department chairs,” Compton said. “I was given a job it would have taken six men at
Harvard to do.”
The National Cancer Institute created the Office of Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research for Compton. Her
focus was how you get material out of a person and store it
and access it.
She left NCI and McGill for the same reasons – her
projects fell victim to political shifts. She has quixotic confidence that will not happen a third time with C-Path.
“I’d like to parlay C-Path into an organization that really
keeps up with the future as it changes,” Compton said.

Biz
42 BizTucson

<<<

Summer 2012

www.BizTucson.com

BizBRIEF

Vaughan moves
from MTCVB
to simpleview
By David B. Pittman
Rick Vaughan has moved from a high-ranking position
at the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau to become VP of sales and marketing at simpleview,
providing interactive marketing tools and services to destination marketing organizations.
“Rick’s proven expertise and vast experience in the tourism industry will be an asset to help simpleview expand into
new markets and provide our clients with well-executed
growth strategies,” said Ryan George, CEO of simpleview.
“Our staff and colleagues will benefit from his knowledge,
counsel and leadership.”
Vaughan brings more than 34 years of experience in the
tourism industry to simpleview. He has held executive positions with global hotel brands such as Westin Hotels and
Resorts, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts and Marriott International.
Most recently, Vaughan served as senior VP of MTCVB.
In this role, he oversaw sales, marketing, advertising, public
relations, convention services, creative services and website
development campaigns for more than 12 years.
Vaughan serves on several national tourism-related
boards. He is a certified destination management executive
by Destination Marketing Association International and a
certified tourism ambassador by the Tourism Ambassador
Institute.
“I am excited to be joining an organization with such a
tradition of excellence and understanding of what destination marketing organizations need today,” said Vaughan.
“It is my plan to focus on providing customer service that
generates the positive results our tourism-focused clients
have come to expect from simpleview.”
Founded in 1991, simpleview employs more than 100
people with offices in Arizona, Texas, Minnesota and California who serve more than 200 domestic and international destination marketing organizations.

Biz

www.BizTucson.com

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 43

Jennifer Nichols,
Olympic Archer
Precision Shooting Equipment in
Tucson is sponsoring Jennifer Nichols,
28, an Olympic hopeful currently competing in the qualifying rounds for the
2012 London Olympic Games.
Nichols’ passion for archery began
at age 12, after her father gave her a
bow for Christmas.
This Wyoming girl began working with Coach Alexander Kirillov in
2001 at PSE’s archery training facility in Tucson. That year, she won her
first national championship and became an honorary member of the Junior USA Team in 2002. In 2003 she
became a member of the Senior USA
Team, where she remains today.
Kirillov, who has coached numerous Olympic archers in Tucson, helped
Nichols qualify for both the 2004
games in Athens and the 2008 Beijing games. She trained for this year’s
games in Tucson earlier this year.
Kirillov also trained the Venezuelan
archery team at PSE this spring.
“It should be good for people to
know that we have an Olympic trial
training center here,” Kirillov said. “Locals don’t know we have indoor and
outdoor ranges – everything to train
top archers.”

Taking Aim
at Archery
By Christy Krueger

44 BizTucson

<<<

Summer 2012

Photo: Courtesy Jennifer Nichols

BizENTREPRENEUR
dad credit for building a great team.
Most managers have been with the
company for more than 20 years.
PSE’s local anonymity is partly due to
its almost non-existent retail presence,
with only a small scratch-and-dent
store inside the plant. The Shepleys
don’t want to compete with their dealers, which include retail chains such as
Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shops
and Sportsman’s Warehouse, as well as
1,500 independent retailers.
Some PSE bows are made of fiberglass, others of cast aluminum or aircraft-grade machined aluminum, and
all components – with the exception
of arrows – are made in-house. That
means the bow frames, the wheels, bowstring, even the parts to make the parts
are produced in the 160,000-squarefoot facility not far from Interstate 10
and Grant Road.
PSE’s arrows are produced in China,
but Shepley hopes to find a manufacturer in Mexico to bring production closer
to home and shorten turn-around time.
Social media, such as Facebook, and
targeted television advertising are effective in promoting the company’s
products. “Our primary focus has
been outdoor programs on the Hunting Channel, Versus and the Outdoor
Channel,” Shepley said. PSE sponsors
professional hunters who appear on
these cable networks and professional

competitive archers.
Alexander Kirillov, one of the world’s
top archery coaches, trains Olympic
hopefuls at PSE, bringing additional
visibility to the line.
The company’s economic contributions have been recognized elsewhere,
if not in Tucson. “A couple years ago
(Texas governor and former presidential candidate) Rick Perry called my
dad and said ‘we want your business to
come to Texas; we’re a business-friendly environment.’ My dad thought it was
too much work to move and he was too
close to retiring. I would have considered it,” said the younger Shepley, who
says the business climate here could be
improved.
Local awareness of PSE will likely
grow in the near future, as Shepley has
become involved in the new archery
range to be built at Naranja Park in Oro
Valley. The project is drawing interest
from residents on the northwest side,
including many from SaddleBrooke.
Shepley started a nonprofit archery
club and plans to hold competitions
and help organize classes at the park.
“I want people to have the opportunity to try archery,’’ Shepley said.
“Once they try it, they’ll get hooked.
You can do it as a family, you don’t have
to be a gifted athlete and there are no
age or gender restrictions.”

Biz

PHOTO: CARTER ALLEN

Secret gems lie hidden among us.
They’re bright lights in their industries
but barely create a blip on the radar in
their hometown.
One such unsung hero of Tucson
is Precision Shooting Equipment, the
world’s largest privately owned manufacturer of archery equipment. It contributes to the local economy by paying
taxes and employing 200 workers, yet
many of us are unaware of this quiet
neighbor.
Pete Shepley started the company in
1970 in Mahomet, Ill. A missile designer for Magnavox Corporation, he had
access to military machinery, said son
Jonathan Shepley, who took over the
company when his father retired last
November. “Archery was his hobby. He
patented a few archery industry products and quit his job and sold archery
equipment out of an RV.”
In 1982 the company moved to Tucson. “He loves horses and the environment here,” Shepley said of his father.
“And a guy we needed who had experience molding fiberglass – he was here.
The employees all moved; we had 28
moving vans.”
One reason PSE is a leader in its industry, asserted Shepley, is innovation.
“Our engineers are active hobbyists so
they’re out in the field and know how to
make it better.”
Ten percent of the equipment manufactured by PSE is for tournament archery use and the other 90 percent is for
hunting. However, archers buy equipment more frequently, so engineering
new designs starts on the archery side.
Eighty percent of the product line
changes every year, according to Shepley, to give customers a reason to continue buying new equipment.
A month after the younger Shepley
became PSE’s president, the company
had its best month ever, and the company is seeing continued growth.
“The biggest challenge,” he said, “is
creating a workforce going in the same
direction – they should be comfortable
giving critique and criticism.” To help
with that aspect, all employees are engaged in communications workshops.
Shepley also says recruiting and retaining employees is difficult, although
the number of long-time staff members
seems to show otherwise. He gives his

BizSPORTS
From George Young and Amanda Beard to Mike Candrea said. “People come here and hope to go onto bigger things
and Gayle Hopkins, Tucson and the University of Arizona and that happens a lot. Bernard Lagat is a good example. He’s
have had their share of Olympic favorites.
been a great ambassador for Tucson.”
Who can ever forget the memories Kerri Strug provided Since 2010, Lagat, the Kenyan turned United States citizen,
with her leap from the vault with a severely injured ankle to has been all about breaking records. He’s one-upped himself
secure gold for the team in 1996? Shivers to be sure at the numerous times since then in preparation for the 5000 meter
Atlanta Games.
Olympic Games. In his American debut in the indoor 5000m
There could be more in store for a host of locals in a variety in Boston, he set an American indoor record of 13:11.50. Four
of sports.
months later, he broke the 5000m outdoor record in 12:54.12
In the pool, on the track, on the field and some other sur- in Oslo. Just a month later, he broke it again at 12:53.60. Earfaces in between, Tucson has been home to many Olympians lier this year, he also topped himself at the Millrose Games,
through the years. The 2012 London Games won’t be any dif- running an American record in the 5000m at 13:07.15.
ferent. The count could be numerous.
Now, if he can just stay injury-free. Injuries were what did
For the 2012 Olympics, there’s even BMX where 20-year- him in in 2008, making Beijing his “biggest disappointment
old Corben Sharrah shines. And, yes,
of my athletics career.” He’ll do so by tryof course, basketball.
ing to win the gold in the 5,000-meter run,
And, why not? Hoop dreams are
the same event where he was among the
synonymous with the Old Pueblo.
favorites in at the 2008 Bejing Games only
to finish ninth due to an injured Achilles
Former UA star Andre Iguodala
tendon.
hopes to be part of 2012 version of
“That injury took a lot from me,” he
the Dream Team.
Tucsonans and the UA will be wellsaid.
represented, making Southern ArizoBut he’s back. The two-time Olympic
na a possible haven for hardware – be
medalist – silver in Athens in 2004, bronze
it gold, silver or bronze.
in Australia in 2000 – is more prepared
“Tucson is a great place to be – and
than ever as he readies for his fourth
to train,” said former UA track coach
Olympic games in London. He’s looking
Dave Murray. “It’s been a great place
to become the first athlete representing
for swimming and track and field.”
the United States in the 5,000 meters since
And volleyball, too. Former UA star
Bob Schul in 1964.
Kim Glass is back to try to win gold,
“It will mean a lot to my career,” he
after helping Team USA win silver in
said. “It would say that I’ve stayed on top
Beijing in 2008.
(for a long time).”
Gold isn’t foreign to UA and TucThis time he really means business.
– Bernard Lagat
son. Former Arizona swim coach
“I need to have more focus than ever
Two-time Olympic Medalist
Frank Busch has helped lead 34
before,” he said. “In the other Olympics
Olympians and 10 medalists. Now
I was just happy to be there. I just wanted
he’ll do so as Team USA’s director of Swimming. This sum- to do my best. Now, I want to win. And, how am I going to
mer more than 50 swimmers with ties to UA, Tucson and the win it? It’s by going all out. It’s my No. 1 priority. This is the
Tucson Ford Aquatics team are vying for a spot on Team USA. moment.”
As UA coach Eric Hansen said, the talent here is “mind-bog- In part he wants to win a gold medal as a U.S. citizen. He
gling.”
became a naturalized citizen in 2004. Winning for the USA
Even renowned swimmer Ed Moses, 31 and a former world would be “awesome,” he said.
record holder, moved to Tucson to be part of the world-class “When I won a medal for the USA at the 2007 World Chamaction.
pionships in Osaka, Japan in the 1500m and 5000m it felt so
The Olympic Trials are in late June. It’s the official start- good because it felt like I was giving back. It was the moment I
ing line for gold medalists at the London Games – at least for had been waiting for.
swimmers.
“Now, this is the big stage and if I win it, it would mean so
“My job is not to do any sightseeing,” Busch said with a much if I were to win the gold medal.”
laugh when he took the job last year, leaving Arizona after two Ditto for Abdi Abdirahman, the former UA long-distance
decades of excellence. “My job is to make sure everyone has a runner soon-to-be four-time Olympian. Abdirahman will be
chance to do the best they can do. Having been a coach on a running the marathon in London after finishing third at the
couple of staffs, I have learned some things that are very im- Olympic Trials earlier this year.
portant. Most of it will be in the background though.”
“I thought maybe one time I’d be an Olympian – but four
Murray attributes Busch’s success – “getting the ball rolling” times?” he said. “It’s amazing. I’ve had a great career. I’m just
in recent years to make Tucson a hotspot for future Olympians, enjoying the moment.”
or at least in making the Old Pueblo a place to train and stay.
In previous years, he was the U.S. three-time 10000-meter
“The (Arizona) program kind of draws people in,” Murray
continued on page 48 >>>

“

In the other
Olympics I was
just happy to
be there. I just
wanted to do
my best. Now,
I want to win.
It’s my No. 1
priority. This is
the moment.

”

www.BizTucson.com

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 47

PHOTO: CHRIS MOONEY

Amanda Beard

48 BizTucson

<<<

Summer 2012

PHOTO: COURTESY ARIZONA ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

Jill Camarena-Williams

continued from page 47
champion. Now, he’ll be going the distance in the 26-mile
marathon.
“I’m excited and I think it’s going to be fun,” said Abdirahman. “I ran well in the trials with minimal training – so
with more training and fitness I think the sky is the limit.”
At age 35, he’s in prime condition for the distance. The
fourth time the charm? He says he feels good.
“I think my chances are as good as anyone else’s,” he said.
“That’s why you run the race. I’m training hard. Things are
going well.”
And if he and Lagat were to win or medal?
“It would be amazing,” he said. “It’s why we run.”
It’s to win, of course. Or medal. It’s very likely to happen
for Arizona volunteer assistant track coach Jill CamarenaWilliams, who recently set a meet record at the Tucson Elite
Classic in the shot put competition. Her distance was 64-feet
9-inches. Camarena-Williams, an eight-time indoor champion and three-time indoor champion, is currently the No.
3 ranked shot putter in the world. This will be her second
Olympics after qualifying in 2008, finishing 12th.
Camarena-Williams is married to UA track and field
trainer Dustin Williams.
“How many athletes will be able to have that (their husband or wife as their trainer) at the Olympics?” CamarenaWilliams asked. “Maybe one other person, maybe just me.
So having him there is going to be a huge advantage.”
Said Murray: “If she stays healthy, she could very well win
it.”
But as she said, there are “no locks for the Olympics.” She
knows she must first make the team.
Amanda Beard knows the feeling. Then again, she’s been
there and done that before. She’ll be attempting to make
her fifth Olympic Games. At age 30, anything is possible,
especially when it comes to Beard, a former UA star and
seven-time Olympic medalist – two gold, four silvers, one
bronze. Can she make the team?
When Busch took his job with the U.S. Olympic team last
year, he didn’t doubt she could.
“I don’t usually make any statements about those kinds
of athletes or anything like this – but I have never coached
anyone quite like Amanda Beard,” he said last year. “First
of all, I have never met anyone as competitive as she is. I
mean, you’d never know that just standing next to her or if
you were her neighbor – but if you put that cap and goggles
on her and race her, you would know it. She’s going to make
her fifth consecutive Olympic team, which just makes you
really think. Yet she’s absolutely a positive influence on everyone she comes in contact with. She has been a super human being with my program from day one.”
Matt Grevers wasn’t part of UA’s program but he’s part of
the Tucson Ford Aquatics team. The former All-American
earned a silver medal in the 100-meter backstroke and won
two gold medals as part of Team USA relays in preliminary
rounds in Beijing.
“Hopefully,” he said, “I can repeat what I did in 2008 and
swim fast.”
Whatever it takes. And he’ll use every inch of his 6-foot-8
frame, using that sweeping bird-like motion.
continued on page 50 >>>

BizSPORTS

PHOTO: CHRIS MOONEY

PHOTO: COURTESY ARIZONA ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

Brigetta Barrett

www.BizTucson.com

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 49

BizSPORTS
continued from page 48

PHOTOS: COURTESY ARIZONA ATHLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS

Andre Iguodala

Kim Glass

Biz
50 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

“I think it was measured at 7 feet,” he said of his wingspan. “So it helps in swimming. Every stroke grabs a lot of
water, so it’s good. I’m a pretty tall swimmer, probably the
tallest U.S. swimmer and one of the tallest in the world. My
wingspan is bigger than Michael Phelps’ wingspan and my
feet are bigger too. But he’s 6-4 and I’m 6-8.”
Georganne Rochelle Moline is 5-9 and a wisp of an athlete. Thin but strong. Petite, yet a powerhouse. She’s gone
from virtual unknown – out of Phoenix Thunderbird High
– to being one of the best in the United States in the 400m
hurdles. She’s a junior at UA and qualified for the Olympic
Trials by going a personal best 55.25 seconds, beating her
own school record.
Her potential is unlimited.
“My ultimate goal has always been to make it to the
Olympics but it wasn’t until this year that I opened my eyes
to the reality that I had a chance of not only going to London but actually being a potential threat there,” Moline said.
“It amazes me that the athletes I see as icons are now my
competitors.”
She’ll be ready and determined. It’s brought her to this
point so there will be no looking back, no relenting.
“The knowledge I have now (with regard) to being an
elite athlete is what clicked for me,” she said. “I was set in
my ways and stubborn to the fact of changing but I knew I
wanted different results. This year, I allowed myself to accept the fact that hard work and talent alone wasn’t going to
get me to the Olympics. It’s the want and drive for the sport
that’s an ingredient I needed to add to the mix.”
UA teammate Brigetta Barrett has the drive and the
wherewithal. Perhaps more importantly, Barrett, a worldclass high jumper, has belief in herself. It’s resulted in her
being the U.S. indoor champion a year ago and a two-time
NCAA champion. Literally, the sky is the limit.
“Participating at the international level just solidified in
my mind ‘this is where I belong,’” she said. “It was the most
competitive environment I had ever experienced in my life,
and yet I was not surprised at how I responded to that type
of pressure. I feel that I was able to rise to the occasion to
the best of my ability and then some. But most importantly,
it reminded me why I started to do track and field as an
organized sport in the first place. It is the excitement of being pressed to the fire and coming out refined or burnt. I
feel that sport truly tests what you are made of as a human
being, and being at such a highly competitive environment
at times forces you to do things you never thought that you
could.”
Iguodala has a chance to do something former UA star
Richard Jefferson wasn’t able to do – win a gold medal. Jefferson was part of the 2004 Dream Team. It finished third.
“It would be incredible, not ever really thinking that I
could be there as a kid,” Iguodala said when he was first
named to roster of possibly making the team. “I remember
Penny (Hardaway) had the Olympic shoe out. I bought that.
That was my favorite shoe. Just watching the Dream Team,
Dream Team II, and then just following the guys every time
the Olympics are on. Just being mentioned in that is crazy.”

Biz
www.BizTucson.com

BizLEADERSHIP

Entrepreneurs Lead to Economic Recovery
by David B. Pittman
Lovallo discussed how to create a
customer-first business culture. “You
have to have a vision for your employees beyond the nuts and bolts of what
they do,” she said. “At Cox Communications we created a vision for our
employees around the customer experience. We don’t do internet, phone and
video product. What we do as a business is assist our customers in making
life’s most important connections. Our
employees must believe that what they
do, the product they sell, and their dayto-day work activity has a big impact on
peoples’ lives.”
For the vision to become reality, a
company must put its money where its
mouth is. “You can’t say we are making life’s most important connections
and never upgrade technology. If you
are going to have a customer-centered
environment, you better make the investments necessary to actually serve
customers,” she said.
Abrahams said many business owners become isolated and need people to
confide in regarding issues of importance within their business. “Often you
meet the enemy and it is yourself that is
holding you back. Having a conversation on a regular basis with somebody
who can share your experience and give
you honest feedback is very important
to drive success in a company.”
Beach said his accounting firm, Bank
of Tucson and other organizations are
available to help entrepreneurs grow
their businesses. “If you need capital, if
you need investors, if you need entrepreneurial assistance, we hopefully can
connect you to the right place at the
right time so you can get the assistance
you need to grow your own company.”

Biz
Don Diamond

Photo: www.balfourwalker.com

Lisa Lovallo
Photo: www.balfourwalker.com

Bruce Beach

promising ventures.
“We have enough entrepreneurs and
we have enough heavy-duty people
working in the universities. We need to
work with them, encourage them and
invest in them. If we do that, I believe
that in the next five years entrepreneurship is going to carry us out of the doldrums we’re in.”
The Diamond Ventures chairman
said Southern Arizona faces challenges
in making an entrepreneurial growth
strategy work. “We do have a shortage
of capital and we do not have a good
political environment, I would admit
that,” Diamond said. “But we do have
the talent. If we all work together, we
can turn the economic tide and build a
new future.”
Bruce Beach, chairman and CEO
of BeachFleischman, moderated the
event. “Communities like Boston, Austin and San Diego have shown that the
grow-your-own strategy will work. We
need to get on the same train,” he said,
because “the paybacks are significant.”
UA dean Jessup detailed elements
that make up an entrepreneur’s DNA –
including courage, passion, confidence,
optimism, determination, intelligence,
persistence, decisiveness, independence and leadership. Entrepreneurs
are action-oriented change agents with
no fear of failure. Entrepreneurs are
all about assuming risk and achieving
commercial success.
“We have a lot of very clever people
all across the University of Arizona,”
Jessup said. “They are great at coming
up with ideas that have interesting ways
to be applied in the marketplace. It is
far more difficult to find entrepreneurs.
We have thousands of innovators on
campus, but only a handful of entrepreneurs.”

PHOTO: CARTER ALLEN

Legendary Tucson developer Donald
Diamond said the real estate industry
will not lead the state out of its economic troubles. Instead, he predicted
home-grown entrepreneurial endeavors will be at the forefront of Arizona’s
economic recovery.
Diamond spoke at a workshop called
“Energize Your Enterprise for Value
and Growth.” The invitation-only
event in April, underwritten by Bank of
Tucson, BeachFleischman and the Jim
Click Automotive Group, was attended
by about 100 business leaders. This was
the first in an anticipated series of gatherings where leaders of growth-oriented businesses share challenges, explore
opportunities and build relationships.
Other speakers included Len Jessup,
dean of University of Arizona Eller
College of Management; Lisa Lovallo, VP and systems manager of Cox
Communications in Southern Arizona;
Marc Sandroff, principal and founder
of Cadre Partners; Ken Abrahams,
principal in Cadre Partners and former
executive VP for Diamond Ventures,
and David Cohen, executive VP of
BeachFleischman.
“This is the fourth recession I’ve been
through here in Arizona, the first was
in 1962,” said Diamond. “In those past
recessions it was growth that dug us
out. Real estate was the barometer of
that growth. This year is a better year
for real estate than any of the last four
years have been – but we will not return
to the boom years we experienced in
real estate in the past, at least not while
I’m still around,” said the 84-year-old
Diamond.
He said home-grown entrepreneurialism will set the pace for the state’s
recovery if private business interests are
willing to assist and invest in the most

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 51

BizBIOSCIENCE

Ventana Draws 450 Scientists
to Global Symposium
By David B. Pittman
Ventana Medical Systems recently
hosted the Tucson Symposium, attended by more than 450 top scientists
and physicians from around the globe
focused on personalized health care in
oncology.
Personalized health care – which fits
the right treatments to patients based
on an individual’s particular genetic
makeup – is critical because expanding
knowledge of disease mechanisms and
individual genetic variation is enabling
doctors to provide more precise diagnoses and targeted treatment options to all
patients, particularly those with cancer.
The three-day Tucson Symposium,
held at Westward Look Wyndham
Grand Resort & Spa, not only brought
key scientists and doctors together for
an insightful exchange of ideas around

52 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

the latest developments in pathology
and oncology, but also spotlighted the
Southern Arizona region as a strong research hub for bioscience technology.
For Ventana, whose mission is to improve the lives of all patients afflicted
with cancer, hosting the symposium
underscored the company’s commitment to establishing new standards for
patient care.
Ventana President Mara G. Aspinall
said personalized health care is ushering in a new era in medicine.
“In recent years, incredible advancements have been made in science that
highlight the tremendous importance
of treating individual patients according to their unique genetic makeup,”
she said. “Ventana enables this through
our sophisticated diagnostic instru-

ments and tests that analyze human tissue to help identify those patients most
likely to respond to a specific treatment
as well as those patients for whom a
treatment may be ineffective or even
dangerous.”
As a global leader in tissue-based
cancer diagnostics, Ventana, a member
of the Roche Group, has been on the
leading edge of the personalized health
care revolution.
“By hosting (the) Tucson Symposium,
we bring together the brightest minds
in cancer today – this leads to knowledge sharing, future collaboration and
new research that will seed the market
for further innovation and most, most
importantly, save patient lives,” Aspinall
said.
Aspinall said increasing personalized

www.BizTucson.com

health care lies with patients.
“The patient is the core of everything we do,” she said. “As personalized
health care continues to advance, patients will need to become better educated about the specific cancer they are
fighting, making them better equipped
to work with their physician on their
personalized treatment plan.”
Other topics discussed at the symposium included the latest developments
in biomarkers, cervical cancer diagnosis
and treatment, gastrointestinal cancer
treatment, innovations in cancer research, and medicine that will change
patient care.
In other news, Aspinall was presented
with a framed copy of an entry in the
Congressional Record which praised
the work done by Ventana. The presen-

www.BizTucson.com

tation was made in April at Ventana’s
Oro Valley campus by members of the
staff of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
The comments in the Congressional
Record were made by U.S. Rep. Bruce
Braley from Iowa, on behalf of Giffords. Braley stated that Ventana Medi-

cal Systems was “a leading global provider” of “patient-focused, tissue-based
cancer diagnosis.” He said Ventana exemplified the mission of every medical
laboratory to “deliver the right patient
results in a timely manner.”

Biz

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 53

BizBRIEFS

Overton
Named Senior
Commercial
Banker at
Mutual of
Omaha
Tim Overton has joined Mutual of Omaha Bank as a senior
commercial relationship manager in Tucson.
Overton, who has nearly 20 years of commercial banking
experience, will work with area businesses, offering a full suite
of business banking services, including deposit accounts, treasury services, merchant services, business loans and commercial real estate financing.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Riverside.
Overton currently serves on the board of the YMCA Foundation of Southern Arizona and is a member of the Tucson
Fiesta Bowl Committee, the Tucson Airport Authority and the
Financial Executives and Associates of Tucson.
With more than $5 billion in assets, Mutual of Omaha Bank
is one of the fastest growing banks in the nation. It is a subsidiary of Mutual of Omaha, in business since 1909.
Biz

McCaleb Construction
Named Regional
Contractor of the Year

It’s been a big couple of years for awards for McCaleb Construction.
The Tucson company was named the 2012 regional recipient of a Contractor of the Year award from the National Association of Remodeling Industry for Best Kitchen in the South
Central Region, which includes Arizona, Arkansas, Texas,
Oklahoma, New Mexico, Mississippi, Louisiana and Nevada.
It also received the 2012 Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona’s Torch Award for Ethics, which recognizes trustworthy and honorable business practices.
McCaleb was named the 2011 Remodeler of the Year at
the annual Southern Arizona Home Builders Association Celebration of Excellence. This is the fourth time since 2002 that
the firm has received the award.
Additionally, McCaleb received Professional Remodeler
Magazine’s Chrysalis Award for Remodeling Excellence for a
Residential Exterior, presented in December 2011.
McCaleb Construction and owner John McCaleb have
been designing and remodeling Tucson homes for more than
30 years. In 1997, McCaleb was featured on PBS’s “This Old
House” program.
Biz

54 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

www.BizTucson.com

Photos: Courtesy of Long Realty Company

BizHONOR

Winning contest entry (left) by Bryan Salzman, along with entries from two other finalists.

Long on Innovation
Local Realty Company Earns Global Award
By Monica Surfaro Spigelman
Innovations abound in every corner
of the real estate market – yet Long Realty Company proved it was a cut above
the rest when it netted a prestigious
honor from Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, the largest global
network of premier locally branded real
estate firms.
For its “Why I Love Arizona” website
launched last fall, Long Realty was designated the Most Innovative Brokerage
at LeadingRE’s 2012 Annual Conference held in Orlando, Fla. It was a case
of the right program at the right time
– as Long Realty’s online campaign engaged community creativity while generating positive energy about Arizona.
Long Realty created a photo contest
that invited the community to submit
photos that portrayed the spirit of “Why
I Love Arizona.” Winners were selected
based on online voting. The grand prize
– $1,926 – was an amount representing the year Long Realty was founded.
Long Realty employees and sales associates also were encouraged to submit
their own Arizona photos for a special
online gallery.
“Our goal was to bring the community together through photos – for everyone to show our Arizona pride,” said
www.BizTucson.com

Rosey Koberlein, CEO of Long Companies. Long Companies comprises
Long Realty Company, Long Mortgage
Company, Long Title Agency and Long
Insurance Group.
The photo contest generated hundreds of submissions. Tens of thousands
of votes were cast from across Arizona.
“We wanted to get people talking and
sharing the positive, and it worked,”
Koberlein continued. “The contest
turned attention on Arizona’s natural
wonders and inspired community spirit
and loyalty.”
Long Realty partnered with KVOATV, Clear Channel Radio, Arizona
Daily Star, Tucson Lifestyle, Truly
Nolen, Comcast and Dental Village
to promote the contest and encourage
participation. With collaboration at the
heart of the initiative, the community
got creative, generating votes as well as
conversations about the contest in social media. The “Why I Love Arizona”
grand prize award winner – Tucson’s
Bryan Salzman – and finalists were announced in December. The gallery of
winning photos remains online at www.
whyilovearizona.com.
Long Realty has made significant
investments in people, technology and

systems to provide an exceptional experience to consumers and to sales associates, according to Kevin Kaplan, VP
of marketing and technology for Long
Companies. “The ‘Why I Love Arizona’
campaign is one in a long line of innovative ideas Long Realty has brought to
life,” he said.
Long Realty was the buzz of the industry at the recent LeadingRE conference at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet
Creek, which attracted 1,000 real estate
brokers, managers, relocation professionals, sponsors and guests from across
the U.S. and over a dozen countries
worldwide.
“Long Realty created an amazing
community outreach campaign,” said
LeadingRE President and CEO Pam
O’Connor. “As the recipient of our
Most Innovative Brokerage Award,
Long Realty has earned distinction as
one of the country’s top-performing
real estate companies.”
Only the best among locally and regionally branded firms are selected for
membership in the LeadingRE network. Long Realty is the local representative in this network producing $235
billion in annual home sales.

Biz

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 55

BizAWARDS

UA Celebrates
Innovation
By Brad Poole

The University of Arizona sets aside a day to celebrate innovation and honor folks from academia whose research is leading
the world into the 21st century. Among those honored this year were Dr. Ronald S. Weinstein, a pathologist whose work has
influenced global telepathology for decades – and doctoral candidate Amanda Armstrong, whose chicken vaccine could protect
millions from Campylobacter, the second most common cause of foodborne illness in the world.
The two received Technology Innovation Awards at the ninth annual Innovation Day on March 6, which included a panel discussion, presentations from other campus innovators and the awards ceremony that also recognized five Leading Edge Researchers.
Ronald S. Weinstein

Siemans and Philips – have invested
more than $200 million in the field.
Tucson’s Sunquest and Ventana Medical Systems have driven the business in
Southern Arizona, along with contributions from the IBM’s mass-storage researchers, Weinstein said.
Weinstein also founded the Arizona
Telemedicine Program in 1996, which
he still heads. Today technology puts
telemedicine directly into the palms of
physicians. Recently a doctor in Sells
connected to the program via a smart
phone to diagnose a man’s neck fracture.

Amanda Armstrong

When Amanda Armstrong came to
UA to study veterinary science, she had
no clue it would lead her to a vaccine for
chickens that could protect millions.
But her work indeed led her there,
and now the final-year doctoral candidate is planning a company that will
produce the vaccine to control Campylobacter, which is normal in chickens
but causes illness in people who eat the
birds. She plans to dedicate her life to
food safety.
“I think food safety is the most important feature of a developed nation,” she
said.

Photos: BalfourWalker.com

Weinstein got his start in telepathology in the 1980s, when pathologists
viewed slides via video from remote microscopes. Today slides are recorded in
high-definition digital images, then sent
to the doctors for viewing. The newer
paradigm, which Weinstein pioneered,
has become the method of choice in
telepathology.
“It has evolved with the ability to
store very large digital files,” Weinstein
said.
Telepathology is still advancing. In
just the past three years, numerous
companies – including GE, Roche,

Dr. Ronald S. Weinstein
58 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

Amanda Armstrong

Leading Edge Researchers

Weinstein and Armstrong are far from the only innovators at UA. Innovation Day is really about recognizing the
breadth of innovation across the campus – from digital art
techniques used in Hollywood to water policy in arid lands,
said Leslie Tolbert, UA’s senior VP for research.
“These are the crème de la crème – but there’s more crème
there,” Tolbert said. “If we had 50 awards to give out, we’d
find 50 amazing people.”
Innovation Day recognized five Leading Edge Researchers
for their innovations in diverse areas of study:
• Eric A Betterton heads the UA Atmospheric Sciences Department and the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences. He is
developing software models to forecast the effects of blowing dust – a surprisingly dangerous and common problem in
Arizona. His work could help protect millions from the windborne contaminants from mines or other man-made sources,
as well as help authorities plan for health advisories or road
warnings.
• Leslie Gunatilaka is a UA professor of Natural Resources
and the Environment and director of the Natural Products
Center. He strives to connect academics across the nation
with businesses to develop pharmaceuticals or other useful
compounds from desert plants.
• Larry Head is an associate professor and head of the UA
Systems and Industrial Engineering Department. His algorithms led to research that could allow traffic control systems
to simultaneously adapt to input from emergency vehicles,
public transit, commercial and personal vehicles and pedestrians. Head’s research could lead to safer streets for everyone.
• Sharon B. Megdal is the director of the UA Water Resources Research Center, a distinguished outreach professor
and the C.W. and Modene Neely Endowed Professor for Excellence in Agriculture and Life Science. Her comparative
analysis of water policy is widely recognized. She strives to
develop new water policy nuances that recognize the demand
of all stakeholders – including the environment – on water
supplies.
• James T. Schwiegerling is a UA professor of ophthalmology
and vision sciences. He is developing artificial lenses that can
adapt to eye muscle contraction, much like natural lenses, to
allow people to focus near and far after cataract surgery.
The UA also recognized the accomplishments of the late Regents’ Professor Michael J. Drake, who joined the UA planetary sciences faculty in 1973 and headed the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and Planetary Sciences Department since
1994. He was the guiding force in the Phoenix Mars Mission
and the pending OSIRIS-Rex mission.

Biz

www.BizTucson.com

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 59

Getting Down
to Business
Len Jessup, Dean of Eller College, University of Arizona
60 BizTucson

<<<

Summer 2012

PHOTO: CARTER ALLEN

By Teya Vitu

www.BizTucson.com

BizEDUCATION

“

We can’t be a great business school
unless this is a great university.
We know we need to help.
–

Len Jessup, Dean of Eller College, University of Arizona

Keep an eye on the Eller College of
Management.
The University of Arizona already
has one of the best business schools in
the country – but don’t think it is business as usual under the leadership of
Len Jessup, who just finished his first
year as Eller’s dean.
“Part of the conversation of my coming here was how do we continue to
grow the college and continue getting
better? How do we do that without state
funding?” said Jessup, who became
dean in May 2011.
Eller is ranked the No. 14 public business school in the nation, according to
U.S. News & World Report and No. 24
if you mix in the private universities.
Eller’s management information system
program is No. 1, entrepreneurship is
No.3 and management is No. 9.
Jessup wants to see all of Eller’s programs and the college itself in the Top
10.
What does it take to make a No.
14 business school a Top 10 business
school in Jessup’s mind? For one, wean
Eller off state funding as much as possible. Eller already is 75 percent selfsustaining.
“The Top 10 public business schools
are in the single digits,” he said, with less
than 10 percent public funding. Jessup
also wants Eller to take a lead in helping the entire university become more
self-sustaining. “We can’t be a great
business school unless this is a great university. We know we need to help.” He
returned to UA as dean 23 years after
earning his doctorate in MIS and organizational behavior at Eller College.
Jessup wants to double the enrollment of the much-vaunted McGuire
Entrepreneurship Program, which has
capacity for only 100 budding entrepreneurs at any one time.
www.BizTucson.com

That’s where a new building comes
in. Eller is just finishing the pre-design
phase for a new 100,000-square-foot
building across the street from Eller’s
250,000-square-foot McClelland Hall.
Jessup estimates a cost of $35 million to
$50 million. Serious fundraising starts
now. He envisions having this new
home for the entrepreneurship, MBA
and executive education programs
ready in the next two or three years.
“The big home run for us is to build
a new building next door and push the
entrepreneurship and the MBA programs out (of McClelland Hall) so they
can grow.”
Eller already has close relationships
with the colleges of science and engineering. And Jessup’s own research focuses on commercializing university research, that is, technology transfer. His
research, in collaboration with Monte
Shaffer and Robert Lusch, is on predicting the potential success of technology patents. This would help determine
the viability of an innovation early on
in the patent filing process.
Jessup is not the first to notice that
UA is a Top 20 research institution
bringing in more than $600 million in
federal research grants, while generating only $981,000 in licensing revenue
in 2011 from companies that were spun
off from UA research. Top 20 universities with revenue from licensing research on average bring in more than
$17 million a year.
“Our spin-off level is not where it
should be,” said Jessup, adding that UA
should fall anywhere between University of California, Berkeley’s $6.8 million
and University of Utah’s $38 million.
Right now, Jessup has faculty looking
around the country for ideas to add a
new element to the MBA program to
write business plans around university

”

intellectual property. The course will
launch this fall.
In his first year Jessup has traveled
widely, visiting prominent business
schools and technology transfer offices.
One trip involved three universities that
he says “fire on all pistons” in regards
to self-sufficiency, spin-off companies
and licensing revenue – University of
California, San Diego, University of
Colorado and University of Texas.
“I came back from those really
charged,” said Jessup, who spent 11
years at Washington State University
before coming to Tucson. “We have
better pre-conditions than those communities have. We could be Austin
times 10.”
Jessup grew up in the San Francisco
Bay Area, descending from Italian immigrants on both his mother’s and father’s side. He received his bachelor’s
and master’s degrees at California State
University, Chico.
He originally cane to Tucson in 1985
to study for his doctorate at Eller. “The
experience here was not only pivotal for
me, but I fell in love with Tucson,” Jessup said. “I went back to California (in
1989), but I knew I would come back.”
Jessup spent the early part of his career in the 1990s at the Kelley School
of Business at Indiana University.
Jessup rose in stature during his 11
years at fellow Pac-12 school Washington State University from 2000 to 2011,
first as head of its MIS Department. He
rose to dean of the College of Business,
then VP of university development,
then president of the Washington State
University Foundation, where Jessup
doubled the foundation’s fundraising
totals and achieved a record number of
donors.

Biz
Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 61

BizMEDICINE

TMC Surgical Tower
Centered on Orthopedic Care
By Ethan Orr
This year the low profile of Tucson
Medical Center is set to change – with
the addition of a $109 million, fourstory, 200,000-square-foot surgical and
orthopedic tower.
For nearly 70 years, TMC’s been recognized for its historic roots, generous
nature – and flat single-story campus.
Not anymore.
Judy Rich, president & CEO of the
TMC sees the new surgical tower project as far more than just a building.
“This will move our hospital into the
next generation.”
With 24 operating rooms, 40 private
patient rooms and an entire floor dedi-

cated to orthopedic surgery, the new
facility clearly moves TMC – already
one of the 300 largest hospitals in the
United States – into a nationally recognized level of service and stature.
Richard Prevallet, VP of facilities and
construction at TMC said, “This project will move us to an elite level – comparable to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore
or the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical
Center.”
Nationally, orthopedic surgery –
which deals with skeletal and muscular
trauma – is a growing field with more
than 132 million patient visits last year.
This trend is driven by an increase in

sport injuries, office injuries such as
carpel tunnel syndrome and the overall
aging of our population. The American
Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons estimates that one out of every four Americans has a musculoskeletal impairment.
TMC’s Orthopedic Center is operated jointly with the Tucson Orthopaedic
Institute, one of the largest full-service
orthopedic practices in the Southwest.
“TMC is one of the most progressive
hospitals in the community,” said Greg
Waters, CEO of TOI. He previously
told Biz Tucson, “In asking ourselves
if we could build the best world-class
center for orthopedics, what would that

Radioactive Beads Provide Hope for Cancer Patients
By Ethan Orr
Colorectal cancer, which develops
in the large intestine, is one of the most
common and lethal caancers in the United States. Once it has spread to the liver,
it is notoriously difficult to treat.
Now Tucson Medical Center is introducing a promising FDA approved treatment option for patients with colorectal
cancer that spreads to the liver.
Selective Internal Radiation Therapy,
known as SIRT, using SIR-Spheres microspheres, is a novel treatment that directly
targets liver tumors. It is a new form of
treatment that surrounds a tumor with
millions of microscopic highly radioactive beads. Each bead is less than a third
of the width of a human hair. The micro62 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

spheres deliver beta radiation directly to
the tumor.
This localized effective solution “is the
newest non-invasive treatment for cancer
that is showing a lot of promise,” said Dr.
Julie Zaetta, a board-certified radiologist
with Radiology Ltd. who has worked to
bring the program to TMC. Zaetta also
has a subspecialty in vascular/interventional radiology.
The 90-minute treatment is performed
on an outpatient basis and the beads become inert after two weeks. This is the
only fully FDA-approved microspheres
therapy available to these patients.
The treatment “improves patient prognosis and it extends life,” Zaetta said.

This is not a cure but a great next step.
When combined with chemotherapy it
can extend life expectancy and dramatically increase survival rates, she said.
This is a tool “to help patients manage
the disease or provide longer diseasefree intervals.”
Colorectal cancer spreads to the liver
in as many as 60 percent of cases. The
SIR-Spheres microspheres deliver a dose
of radiation up to 40 times higher than
conventional radiotherapy – while sparing healthy tissue, Zaetta said. This new
treatment is suitable only for patients
with liver tumors and has no effect on
tumors outside the liver.

Biz

www.BizTucson.com

“

This project
will move us to
an elite level –
comparable to
Johns Hopkins
in Baltimore
or the Ronald
Reagan UCLA
Medical Center.
–

”

Richard Prevallet, VP of facilities and construction at TMC
look like? I think we found it.”
This is designed to be a world-class specialty center that
will “focus us squarely on the future by putting the best
medical quality and state-of-the-art resources at the patient
level,” according to Louise Francesconi, chair of the TMC
board of trustees. The surgical tower will increase the total
number of in-patient rooms for orthopedic patients from 30
to 40.
Community leaders also see the value and impact of
this expansion. Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild said,
“TMC’s new orthopedic and surgical tower will add to Tucson’s health care cluster. It will serve area residents – but also
add to our ability as a community to attract patients seeking
top-notch health care, both nationally and internationally.”
He added it also “builds Tucson’s reputation as a Science
City.”
Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll sees the value
to both the patient and the community. “Having one of
the best orthopedic centers in the nation will improve our
quality of life and help us attract business. Overall, this will
positively impact our economy, create jobs and will improve
medical service in Pima County. ”
Currently, more than 100 construction workers are on
site. This is projected to increase to more than 200 this year,
adding over $10 million in direct wages to the Tucson economy in 2012.
Judy Rich also acknowledged that previous leading-edge
projects, such as the conversion to electronic medical records, have been an enabler for this facility.
“Had we not laid the groundwork with electronic medical records, this facility could not function as effectively as it
will.” She also noted that with the addition of a new 600-car
parking garage and moving surgery into a single building,
transportation becomes a lot easier.
The old operating rooms will be converted into a gym and
workout center – much to the delight of the hospital staff.
The surgical tower is set to be completed in Spring 2013 –
much to the delight of the entire community.
Biz
www.BizTucson.com

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 63

BizHEALTH
Dr. Jessica Schultz
Pediatrician & Founder
Grow 2B Fit

Growing Strong

Program Inspires Kids to Make Healthy Choices

PHOTO: CHRIS MOONEY

By Romi Carrell Wittman

When Dr. Jessica Schultz began
referring 12-year old children to the
cardiologist for elevated cholesterol
levels, she knew she had to do something.
“I was so frustrated seeing so many
overweight children, kids that were
morbidly obese,” said the Tucson
pediatrician. “I knew we had to help
them. We had to do more than what
we could offer in a 10-minute office
visit.”

64 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

While there were some kid-focused
nutrition and exercise programs available, working families often couldn’t
attend them because of scheduling
issues.
That’s how Grow 2B Fit was born.
“It started as a kids’ camp – a free
monthly class for families, with a portion on nutrition and a portion on exercise,” Schultz said of the program,
which began in the fall of 2009.
At the camps, families learn how to

make better food choices and how to
incorporate exercise into their dayto-day lives. The idea is to make the
exercises simple enough for people to
do at home, with little to no special
equipment needed. The camp also
provides kids with activity books targeted to a variety of age groups.
“Kids and parents that come get a
pedometer,” Schultz added. “And we
offer small prizes for the number of
steps.’’ She said the program encour-

“

There are a lot of resources that parents just don’t
know about and we want to make it easy for them to find
those resources.
– Dr.

ages making good choices by making it
fun.
The camps eventually evolved into a
full-fledged foundation, which received
its 501(c)3 nonprofit status in 2010. Initial funding for the organization came
from the community, including Tucson Medical Center. A grant from the
American Academy of Pediatrics supported the formation of the Grow 2B
Fit Childhood Obesity Coalition.
Grow 2B Fit still offers monthly Kidz
Camps at Apollo Middle School, but
now also boasts a robust, family-friendly
website at www.grow2bfit.org. The site
provides links to a multitude of websites
offering recipes, activities and tips for
incorporating healthy habits into dayto-day life.
The organization is in the process

www.BizTucson.com

”

Jessica Schultz, Pediatrician and Founder, Grow 2B Fit
of developing a Fit Buddy program, a
mentorship program matching volunteers with children to provide one-onone teaching and support.
Grow 2B Fit is working to get the
home economics kitchen at Apollo renovated so that it can be used to teach
healthy cooking. “The kitchen is the
same one that was built when the school
was constructed. It’s about 40 years old
and the school hasn’t been able to use
it for the past 10 years,” Schultz said.
Once the kitchen is remodeled, it will
be used not only for home economics classes, but also to offer hands-on
healthy cooking demonstrations at the
monthly Kidz Camps.
Schultz said that as a nonprofit organization operating on a shoestring
budget, the group is looking for vol-

unteers to help teach nutrition and exercise classes at monthly camps. The
organization also needs volunteers to
help with support functions. Currently,
Schultz and Dr. Shook Yap, also a pediatrician, are the only staff.
“We have a lot of plans,” Schultz
said. “We are in need of volunteers and
welcome any donations, including inkind gifts like small sporting goods.”
More important, Schultz said, is
getting the word out. “We want to let
families know this is out there for them.
There are a lot of resources that parents just don’t know about and we want
to make it easy for them to find those
resources.”
For tips on healthy eating and exercise,
go to www.grow2bfit.org
Biz

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 65

BizBRIEFS
Commerce Bank
Names Lewis
President & CEO
By David B. Pittman
Commerce Bank of Arizona has named John S. Lewis president and CEO, responsible for managing the bank’s statewide
operations.
Lewis, an executive with more than 30 years of senior level
business banking experience, will work from offices in Scottsdale and Tucson.
Prior to joining Commerce Bank, Lewis served as president
and CEO of Sunrise Bank of Arizona and chairman and
CEO of First Interstate Bank of Arizona.
Former Commerce Bank president and CEO Randall J.
Yenerich has moved to the position of president and CEO of
the bank’s holding company, CBOA Financial.
“CBOA Financial is pleased that John Lewis will lead Commerce Bank of Arizona’s continued statewide expansion
plans,” said Yenerich. “John has a proven track record of community bank leadership focused on local customer relationships, which is the hallmark of our organization.”
Lewis said he is looking forward to leading the bank.
“Our team of banking professionals have decades of local
banking experience, and our goal is to ensure that our customers experience the benefits of our expertise and communityfocused banking decisions,” he said.
Founded in 2002 by Yenerich and a group of local investors,
Commerce Bank of Arizona offers business and consumer
banking services, including commercial, real estate and mortgage loan products. The bank has offices in Scottsdale, Mesa,
Tucson, Green Valley and Tubac, with about $267 million in
assets.
Biz

Charlie Bowles, longtime leader
in the Southern Arizona real estate
and homebuilding industries, is now
associate broker manager at the Tucson office of Russ Lyon
Sotheby’s International Realty, which specializes in the sale of
fine homes and real estate throughout Arizona.
Bowles previously was VP of marketing and sales for Diamond Ventures, where he worked for 13 years. From 1988
to 1999, he was VP of marketing and sales at Estes Homebuilding Co. Bowles also has been president and broker for
Cottonwood Homes at Cottonwood Properties and co-owner
and vice president of Crain and Associates Management Co.,
where he managed and marketed 11 Arizona apartment communities.
Gov. Jan Brewer appointed Bowles to the Arizona Real Estate Advisory Board, where he serves as chairman. He was
2011 chairman of the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association Board of Trustees. From 2007 to 2011, he was chairman of the board of Tu Nidito, a nonprofit agency dedicated
to providing care to children who have experienced the death
of a parent, sibling or other loved one.

Biz

66 BizTucson

<<<

Summer 2012

www.BizTucson.com

SPECIAL REPORT 2012

THE REGION’S BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Tucson’s Tourism Bureau

Sporting

New Strategies

6 BizTucson

<<<

Spring 2009

www.BizTucson.com

www.BizTucson.com

Spring 2009

>>>

BizTucson 7

8 BizTucson

<<<

Spring 2009

www.BizTucson.com

www.BizTucson.com

Spring 2009

>>>

BizTucson 9

SPECIAL REPORT
Sporting New Strategies

72 BizTucson

<<<

Summer 2012

ture, cuisine, sporting & cultural events. These remain the focus
of the game plan.
This year’s update also includes news of geotourism, the
Mexico market, the region’s resorts, spas and other gems. After
reading this report, I think you’ll agree that this is a “wow”
destination – and a very real economic jewel for this region.
This summer I urge you to “play tourist” at our resorts, attractions, airport, restaurants and arts events. They deserve our
support. And think Tucson whenever you have the chance to
book a conference, family reunion or client outing.
photo by: Steven Meckler

This is an exciting time for tourism as travelers are enticed
here by The Real Southwest – a marketing campaign launched
by the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau.
This is also the start of a new era – under the leadership of
Brent DeRaad, the bureau’s new president and CEO. DeRaad
completed his successful tenure at the Scottsdale CVB to join
the Tucson bureau this spring. His passion for our region is already evident. He has great plans for this destination.
To address the economic adversity of the past few years, the
MTCVB developed new strategies to diversify their economic
development “toolkit,” including innovative collaborations.
We’re a college sports town – so the MTCVB became a corporate partner of Arizona Athletics to help draw sports tourists. Enter visionary Athletic Director Greg Byrne and think Hi
Corbett Field – where baseball is back – and so are the fans.
Tucson’s also a film town. The first studios date to 1914.
With the loss of film incentives, local promoters shifted their
focus and now we’re getting independent films, like “Goats”
with David Duchovny and Vera Farmiga, plus lucrative TV
commercials and reality shows.
This special report focuses on tourism, an economic driver
that has a $2 billion impact on the region, or $2.5 billion for all
of Southern Arizona. A Pima County audit showed that every
tourism dollar invested in 2009 had a 30-to-1 return.
That’s why it is so important to invest in tourism marketing.
Remember that Colorado cut tourism expenditures in 2003,
thinking that visitors would continue to come. Tourism plummeted and the state has yet to fully recover.
Last year we reported the MTCVB’s focus on seven key
economic drivers of Tucson tourism – spas & resorts, outdoor
adventure & eco-tourism, golf, arts & attractions, history & cul-

A performance audit of the MTCVB conducted by Pima
County in 2011 reported that the bureau was responsible for
generating $170 million in 2009 – a 30-to-1 return on every
dollar invested.
Over the past several years, well-targeted marketing by the
bureau is making an impact – including group sales, sports,

Winter 2012 cold-weather transit
marketing in Denver

Mexico and film. Allison Cooper, director of marketing, shared
these statistics:
• Last year, travel by MTCVB clients for conventions,
meetings and group tours accounted for more than
387,750 occupied hotel and resort rooms in the greater Tucson area. That translates to an estimated overall
economic impact of nearly $157 million. (Group travel
represents about 30 percent of hotel bookings, with the
balance from leisure travelers.)
• Since 2005, the bureau’s Tucson Sports division has
generated 231,000 room nights for an estimated impact of $147 million.
• The only bureau in Arizona with two offices in Mexico, the MTCVB saw a 24 percent increase in the number
of hotel room nights they booked last year from Mexico
visitors – an impact of nearly $553,000 in revenue for
midtown and downtown hotels.
• The bureau’s film office generated an estimated economic impact of $6 million last fiscal year. Recruiting a
single commercial to film here in Southern Arizona can
generate $500,000 or more for the local economy – in
less than two days.

All told, in 2010 the tourism industry in Tucson and Pima
County generated 21,520 jobs, $124 million in direct tax receipts and an overall economic impact of more than $2 billion, according to the Arizona Office of Tourism. The study
by Dean Runyan Associates also showed that of Southern Arizona attractions, Saguaro National Park had the most visitors
continued on page 76 >>>
Photo: Courtesy MTCVB

Like the first green buds of mesquite trees in the spring, there
are signs that Tucson’s economy is rebounding. That includes
tourism, which generates an economic impact of more than $2
billion in this region.
For the first time since the economy tanked in 2008, local
hotel and convention bookings and rates are trending steadily
up, as are other indicators that travelers are on the move again.
This local re-awakening hasn’t been easy. These glimmers of
success come in part from ongoing aggressive marketing and a
highly targeted new branding campaign launched by the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau in 2011.
Oro Valley Mayor Satish Hiremath said the MTCVB
has been Tucson’s saving grace during a very difficult time.
“They’re saving us in a time when the economy is in turmoil.
When jurisdictions are trying to find sources of revenue, the
MTCVB is indispensable.”
As examples, Hiremath cites the 2012 Duathlon National
Championship and the Iron Kids – two athletic events the
MTCVB was instrumental in bringing to Oro Valley. Earlier
this year, the MTCVB also helped bring a six-day scientific
conference to Oro Valley.
“That’s 450 scientists,” Hiremath said. “It was an economic
impact of $600,000 for Oro Valley.”
People oftentimes don’t know or understand what the
MTCVB does, he said. “A lot flies under the radar – but it’s
time
people make a big deal about it.”

BizFACTS
Tourism by the numbers
21,520 tourism-related jobs
$124.1 million in direct tax receipts
in Tucson and Pima County
$2.02 billion total impact to the region,
$2.5 billion for all of Southern Arizona
Source: Arizona Office of Tourism

74 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

www.BizTucson.com

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 75

BizTOURISM
continued from page 74
– 664,000. Second was Reid Park Zoo with 536,000.
Lynn Ericksen, chairman of the MTCVB Board of Directors and GM of the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador, said
that money spent to promote Tucson and tourism shouldn’t
be thought of as an expense – but rather an investment.
“Sometimes you get 30 times what you put into it,” Ericksen
said.
This year the MTCVB set out to sustain the momentum
despite a budget cut of 30 percent – from nearly $10 million
in 2008 down to its current $6.2 million.
The bureau’s efforts revolve around a new branding campaign designed to sell this region as The Real Southwest.
“Tucson has world-class attributes and is truly unique among
travel destinations. We have so many things you just can’t get
anywhere else,” Cooper said.
“The message is one that resonates with travelers on an
emotional and personal level. Travelers seek a memorable
experience. They find it here – and they come back.
“Our mission is to drive economic impact through tourism,” Cooper said. “We’re creating awareness and driving
people to the website.” Since launching The Real Southwest campaign last year, she’s seen a 287 percent increase in
campaign-specific page views.
MTCVB works with the world’s largest custom market
research company TNS (formerly Taylor Nelson Sofres) to
evaluate consumers’ website usage. TNS research shows that
nearly 80 percent of all visits to the visitTucson.org website
are new visitors – an indicator that new awareness for Tucson
is being created, Cooper said. TNS reported that for every $1
invested in the website, the return in direct travel spending
was $4,542.
The MTCVB is primarily funded by a bed tax levied on
overnight hotel stays by the City of Tucson and Pima County. The MTCVB saw its portion of this tax slashed when the
economy soured. Cuts totaled roughly $4 million.

Restoring the MTCVB’s budget is one of the first orders
of business for Brent DeRaad, the new president and CEO
of the MTCVB. DeRaad came to the MTCVB from the
Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, replacing Jonathan Walker, who retired after 18 years with the bureau.
DeRaad was selected after an intense six-month nationwide executive search led by the MTCVB board. “Brent just
came out of the pack in an absolutely compelling way,” said
board chair Ericksen. “He came to the interviews with a full
understanding of tourism in Arizona and what it takes the
sell the region. He came to us with a background that’s heavy
with everything we needed. We really think that Brent is the
right guy at the right time.”
“It’s a time of change,” Ericksen said. “But we have a very
engaged board of directors that has stepped up in a stellar
way. I think our CEO has an enormous opportunity to take
advantage of the momentum already in place.”
DeRaad, who started his new job in April, has hit the
ground running. His number one priority is to restore the
MTCVB’s budget so that it can compete head-to-head with
other markets.
“Tucson and Scottsdale were both $10 million organizations in 2007” he said. While the MTCVB’s budget was cut,
Scottsdale’s budget now exceeds $11 million.
This disparity affects how and where the MTCVB can

“

They’re saving us in a time
when the economy is in
turmoil. When jurisdictions
are trying to find sources
of revenue, the MTCVB
is indispensable.

”

– Satish Hiremath, Mayor, Oro Valley

market – and puts Tucson at a distinct disadvantage to cities
with larger marketing and advertising budgets. To put it into
greater perspective, the city of Las Vegas has a larger tourism
budget than the entire state of Arizona.
Funded by Bed Tax

To get the MTCVB budget back where it needs to be, DeRaad hopes to increase the portion of the bed tax that the
MTCVB receives. “If we’re able to get all of the entities that
we work with to invest 50 percent of the bed tax, that will get
us to an $8 to $9 million budget,” he said. DeRaad hopes the
other 50 percent of the bed tax would be devoted to tourismrelated improvements and special events.
It’s important to remember that the bed-tax is not paid by
residents – just travelers, Ericksen said.
“We understand it’s been hard on our elected officials and
that budget cutbacks were happening in virtually every area.
But as the economy recovers, we want to be sure we’re out there
competing as we need to.”
In addition to restoring the budget, DeRaad also wants to
address key issues like air service in and out of Tucson. “There
have to be more nonstop flights, more flights to the East Coast
and nonstop flights into Mexico,” DeRaad said. “We have to
make it easy for people to get here.”
The beleaguered Tucson Convention Center is also a priority. It’s a facility that can accommodate large groups – but with
no major hotels nearby within walking distance, it’s underutilized.
Advantage: Mexico

Tucson has some significant advantages, among them its
relationship with and proximity to Mexico. The MTCVB is
among the first convention and visitors bureaus in the nation
to open visitor centers in Mexico. The first was in Hermosillo.
The second opened earlier this year in Ciudad Obregón.
“Thanks to the visitor centers and our online reservation system, Tucson has booked more than 33,000 room nights since
2006, generating over $2.7 million in direct revenue primarily
for midtown and downtown hotels. Last year alone, we booked
7,000 room nights,” DeRaad said. “We have a unique niche
and will continue to market aggressively to Mexico visitors.”
The MTCVB is also the first bureau in Arizona with a website dedicated to travelers from Mexico – vamosaTucson.com
– principally travelers who spend nearly $1 billion a year here
on principally shopping and restaurants.
Advantage: Youth and Amateur Sports

Another competitive advantage is youth and amateur sports.
“Losing spring training was a blow,” DeRaad conceded.

“But we have great facilities in place. And we are attracting
a lot of amateur athletics as well as youth soccer, baseball and
club teams. These are recession-resistant types of industries,”
he said.
Vince Trinidad, Director of Tucson Sports, is determined
to bring more youth and collegiate sports to Tucson. He’s already succeeded teaming up with local sport organizers to market and attract more than 100 collegiate softball and baseball
spring training teams here, not to mention BMX racing and
volleyball.
“When these sports come here, each player usually brings
two or three people with them,” he said, which translates into
more room nights, more meals, more attraction tickets sold.
“There is huge growth potential in these areas.”
The MTCVB also established a unique partnership with
University of Arizona athletics to attract more sports travelers.
(See Partnering to Grow Tourism on p. 84.)
Advantage: Film

Once the film capital for Western movies and television series, Tucson lost some of its luster as a film location in recent
years, in part because it does not offer tax incentives as do several other competing states, including New Mexico. Arizona
once had an incentive program. Since it expired the legislature
has not passed any of the new versions presented.
As a result, the MTCVB Film Office shifted its marketing
efforts to projects that are not incentive-driven – such as big
TV commercials, reality TV, smaller-budget films and productions that simply cannot find what Tucson has anywhere else.
According to Shelli Hall, director of the Tucson Film Office,
many up-and-coming filmmakers with low budgets like the advantages of being the bigger fish in a smaller pond. (See Lights,
Camera, Action on p. 90.)
Films include “Goats,” scheduled for release in August.
Commercials include one for Skechers that aired during Super
Bowl 2012, plus several car ads. The reality show “The Great
Escape” filmed here in May and several episodes of the Food
Network’s “Chopped” are airing in June.
Reinstating a state film tax incentive would make a big difference by attracting big-budget productions. “That would really
open the doors to bring more film-related business to Tucson,”
DeRaad said. “It would make us more competitive with New
Mexico and other neighboring states.”
The bureau also collaborates with the University of Arizona
Hanson Film Institute on a variety of projects to showcase local
film talent, including faculty who work in the industry, to connect with alumni working in the industry and to hire students
for local filming.
Tried and True

To attract and book
group meetings and conventions, the bureau uses
two award-winning strategies that have proved so effective they’ve been copied
by other CVBs.
The bureau initiated the
“You Fly, We Buy” program, bringing meeting
planners to Tucson for the
real experience. Eight out
of 10 planners who avail

Graeme Hughes MTCVB’s
Director of Convention Sales

continued on page 78 >>>
www.BizTucson.com

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 77

BizTOURISM
continued from page 77
themselves of the program subsequently book meetings here,
according to Graeme Hughes, director of convention sales.
The sales team also offers an incentive program to qualifying
meetings and events that provides a credit for food, beverage
and other expenditures at the hotel or resort. Since 2009, this
program has booked over 153,000 room nights. Hughes estimates the economic impact to be over $49 million.
The bureau’s tourism department markets to leisure travelers,
working with tour operators, travel agents, group tour companies and airlines both here and abroad.
The partnership development program works closely with the
local hospitality industry to expand connections and maximize
their tourism opportunities. This includes cooperative advertising to reach qualified consumers.
The bureau also has a long-established public relations program that works with domestic and international travel writers
to showcase the region. In fiscal 2010-11, the publicity generated was valued at $4.5 million.
The Road Ahead

Despite many challenges, Tucson’s tourism future remains
bright. Ericksen said Tucson just needs to make sure that it’s

at the table when the economy does rebound to pre-recession
levels.
“Our industry is producing in excess of $2 billion a year,”
Ericksen said. “But it can grow. I believe we are positioned in a
unique way to do just that.”
Ericksen added a caveat: “We need to restore our historic
funding to the MTCVB.
“We just have to remember that tourism promotion produces
far more in revenue, taxes and jobs than the money we invest to
fund the organization that markets the region.”
DeRaad and Ericksen agreed that, to get there, Tucson can’t
fragment into pieces or small special interest groups. “We can’t
go to war with one another,” Ericksen said.
“We need to be greater than the sum of our parts. We need to
be fiercely competitive with San Diego, with Salt Lake City, with
Albuquerque.” These are, after all, the cities that want Tucson’s
tourism dollars, jobs and taxes.
Ericksen summed it up: “We’ve been through a difficult time.
But I see the MTCVB – its staff and its board – rejuvenated. I
personally have never been more excited about the opportunity
to sell and market this region.”

Biz

The more you fund CVBs, the more revenue acheived. Credit:Smith Travel Research

By the end of his interview with BizTucson, Brent DeRaad sounded a little
raspy. “I’m losing my voice,” he said.
“Too many meetings,” he added with a
laugh.
Despite having been in meetings
non-stop from 7:30 in the morning
until this 5 o’clock interview, DeRaad
was upbeat and excited to talk about his
plans as the new president & CEO of
the Metropolitan Tucson Convention &
Visitors Bureau.
DeRaad had been on the job just six
days when we spoke. Yet, in that incredibly short amount of time, he’d already
met with elected officials as well as community leaders at all levels – no small
feat in a town that historically has not
been known for collaboration.
DeRaad replaces long-time MTCVB
President Jonathan Walker, who retired after 18 years at the helm of the
bureau. DeRaad, who was selected
after a nationwide executive search, is
responsible for the overall operation of
the MTCVB, its $6.2 million budget
and various departments – including
marketing and advertising, convention
sales, tourism, partnership and visitor
services, public relations, sports, Mexico and film.
Lynn Ericksen, MTCVB board chair,
said of DeRaad: “He is the right guy, in
this economic climate, to continue the
momentum and maximize the power
of the MTCVB.”
DeRaad comes to Tucson from just
up the road – Scottsdale to be exact.
DeRaad’s ties to the Valley of Sun run
deep. He earned a bachelor’s degree in
journalism and public relations plus a
master’s degree in mass communication
from Arizona State University.
After graduating, he went to work in
public relations for the Fiesta Bowl and
later the City of Scottsdale as media relations manager. During his tenure, he
played an instrumental role in the 1996
Super Bowl, which was held at Sun
Devil Stadium in Tempe.
“They loaned me to the Super Bowl
host committee. I got to work with the
NFL and the 3,000 media that came to
town,” he said. “It was a lot of fun.”
After several years at the City of Scottsdale, he made the jump to the tourism
industry, taking a job at the Scottsdale
Convention and Visitors Bureau.
www.BizTucson.com

In all, he has more than 20 years’
experience in management, marketing,
community affairs and public relations
– 14 of those in the tourism industry.
He was most recently the executive VP
of the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. His previous roles there
included VP of marketing and VP of
corporate communications.
DeRaad also led the 2010 campaign
for Proposition 200, in which Scottsdale
voters approved a two percent increase
in the local bed tax. Half of Scottsdale’s
bed tax is allocated to the Scottsdale
CVB.
DeRaad hopes to have a similar impact in Tucson. He intends to use his
high-octane energy and laser-sharp fo-

“

He is the
right guy, in
this economic
climate, to
continue the
momentum and
maximize the
power of the
MTCVB.

”

– Lynn Ericksen
Board Chair, MTCVB

cus to shape the MTCVB’s future. It’s a
challenge he said he’s looking forward
to.
“We’re selling the Real Southwest,”
he said. “We have spectacular attractions here. We have world-class resorts,
spas, golf and dining. That’s what attracted me to Tucson.”
In the short term, DeRaad hopes
to increase the MTCVB’s investment
in advertising, sales and marketing. In
the longer term, his goal is to make the
MTCVB a viable part of the economic
development landscape of Southern
Arizona. To that end, he hopes to pinpoint the areas that can be improved
upon and made better.
“What is it that we can help build –
or bring in – that would benefit tourism

and would also be good for Tucson?” he
asked. “If something is good for tourism, it’s most likely good for the community, too. It adds value.”
DeRaad faces some pretty significant
challenges. One is addressing Tucson’s inability to host large convention
groups. Another, more immediate concern is increasing MTCVB’s budget,
which DeRaad hopes to do through a
reallocation of Tucson bed tax, levied
on all hotel rooms in the city.
DeRaad believes that informing people about Tucson and Pima County, just
letting them know how great it is here, is
critical. Tucson – and the entire state of
Arizona – has suffered from bad publicity, with everything from the passage of
the controversial SB1070 to the events
of Jan. 8 affecting people’s perceptions
of the area. DeRaad doesn’t see this as
the real problem, however.
“Tucson doesn’t have an image problem so much as it has a funding problem,” DeRaad explained. “We have to
reach out to potential visitors to show
them what they can experience in Tucson. We have to continuously improve.
And those things take money.”
DeRaad sees collaboration as critical
to both the MTCVB’s and the entire
region’s long-term success. “I see the
MTCVB serving a role in overall economic development. It’s not just about
tourism. Regional partnerships are crucial.”
DeRaad intends to strengthen the
MTCVB’s ties with Tucson Metro
Chamber. He also wants to work even
closer with neighboring communities
like Oro Valley plus organizations like
the Tucson Airport Authority.
“We’re stronger as a region if we
work together,” he said.
DeRaad also hopes to build on the
MTCVB’s key strengths – Mexico, amateur and youth sports and film tourism
– areas that continue to grow even in
this tough economy.
DeRaad knows the MTCVB has its
share of challenges, yet he is optimistic about the future because he believes
Tucson is truly unique, a gem of the
Old West. He said he’s glad he made
the decision to come to Tucson.
“Tucson has so much to offer. It has
such tremendous attributes,” he said.

Getting ‘Real’
By Romi Carrell Wittman
In August, Allison Cooper will celebrate her second anniversary as Director of Marketing at the Metropolitan
Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Given the tremendous success of The
Real Southwest marketing campaign
that Cooper’s been spearheading, those
two years seem to have gone by in perpetual motion.
She’s animated as she speaks about
the campaign, and it’s obvious that she
loves what she does for a living. “Tucson
has so much to offer. Our mission is to
make sure people know about it.”
And that’s where The Real Southwest comes into play. “We’re creating
a brand for the region,” she explained.
“And the concept of ‘real’ is what resonates with people. Real is emphasized
throughout our seven destination drivers – the most unique attributes that
attract travelers to choose Tucson and
Southern Arizona over competing destinations.”
The idea behind Real Southwest
is that Tucson delivers authentic and
memorable travel experiences. According to a 2010 marketing survey
82 BizTucson

<<<

Summer 2012

by PGAV Destinations, destinations
considered to be authentic tend to enjoy better brand perception and higher
satisfaction among travelers. In fact,
some 80 percent of those surveyed reported they like to visit places that offer
a “real” experience.
“Some of the best examples we have
in selling ‘real’ are in our natural attractions, such as Saguaro National Park,”
Cooper said. She points to other natural
wonders like Kartchner Caverns, iconic
attractions like Mission San Xavier del
Bac and locales known in history, like
John Dillinger and the Hotel Congress
or the O.K. Corral in Tombstone.
“People want to experience things
you can’t do anywhere else,” Cooper
said. That includes events like the gem
show and international mariachi conference.
The successful implementation of
The Real Southwest brand – and getting people to Tucson -- has a huge
economic impact on the region. “Our
mission is to drive economic impact
through tourism,” she said. “When we
invest in marketing the region, our lo-

cal economies see a 30-to-1 return on
investment.”
Cooper’s dynamism and forwardfocus come from years spent working
in the intense Washington, D.C. political arena. For 10 years, she developed
marketing and outreach campaigns for
United States senators – Pennsylvania’s
John Heinz and Maine’s Bill Cohen.
She later served as deputy director of
the Joint Economic Committee of Congress under Connie Mack of Florida.
Cooper relocated to Oro Valley in
1997 to be near family. Once here,
she began her career in tourism marketing at Madden Media. Eventually
she moved to the MTCVB, where she
heads up the in-house ad agency and
oversees all marketing efforts.
With the arrival of Brent DeRaad,
the bureau’s president and CEO, Cooper sees the future as a new opportunity
to generate even greater demand for
Tucson.
“Tourism’s nearly $2.6 billion impact
is huge,” she said. “It benefits all Southern Arizona.”

Biz

www.BizTucson.com

www.BizTucson.com

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 83

BizTOURISM

Partnering to Grow Tourism
Arizona Athletics & MTCVB
By Steve Rivera
James Francis attended the University of Arizona on a football scholarship in the early 1990s. Now, 20 years later, he’s
one of the higher ups in Arizona Athletics, a senior associate
athletic director.
Tucson and the UA grew on him. He started a family and
later his mom and dad moved here. Not that “play and stay”
has become a catch phrase, but it isn’t uncommon to see many
student-athletes – or students for that matter – come to UA
and stay in Tucson.
The athletes are just more visible because of the sports that
brought them here.
From Ricky Hunley to Terry Francona to Matt Muehlebach to Joseph Blair to Amanda Beard, there are more sports
alums than you can count who have lived, or are currently
living and succeeding, in the Old Pueblo. Ambassadors all, for
UA and the city, wherever they go.
This community connects with Arizona athletes and coaches, which is one of several factors that led tourism and sports
promoters to realize they have a good thing right in their back
yard – the university – and to make more of it.
That’s why Arizona Athletics and the Metropolitan Tucson
Convention & Visitor’s Bureau formed a corporate partnership, now in its second year, to promote sports and tourism.
Tucson Is a Sports Town

“We’re excited to be working with the bureau. Any entity
that helps in bringing people into our community is a plus,”
said Greg Byrne, Arizona’s athletic director who is entering
his third year on the job. “They’re getting people to come to
this city and university – and hopefully get exposed to a great
experience.”
That’s the idea. More visitors could mean more events and
more money to the community. And as the always-thinkingahead Byrne sees it, many could possibly become season ticket
holders, donors and supporters of the program.
Besides, where else to showcase events but, well, the UA?
All involved said this is a “great partnership” and “fabulous” – so much so, it’s a wonder why it hadn’t been done a
long time ago. Still, it’s better late than never as the MTCVB
and UA start their second year of the marriage, where both
benefit.
“Tucson is always asking itself – what kind of town are we?”
said Vince Trinidad, director of Tucson Sports, a division of
the MTCVB. “In my opinion, Tucson’s always been a college
town and a college sports town. Various pro teams have come
and gone (over the years) but Arizona Athletics has endured.”
That’s why this partnership makes such good sense, he said.
84 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

UA Facilities Are Key

“What the UA is doing with the athletic program, including
allowing access to their facilities, helps us bring athletes and
their families to the area and show them exactly what it’s like
to play in a great facility,” said Trinidad.
Tucson Sports’ mission is to enhance, develop and secure
major events for Tucson, especially lucrative amateur sports.
Arizona Athletics and facilities are key to attracting them. “It
reinforces our image as a college town and highlights the impact that Arizona Athletics has on the region,” he said.
“We’re inspired by ‘Arizona is Wildcat Country,’ ” said
Allison Cooper, marketing director of the MTCVB, referring
to Byrne’s always-there PR slogan.
Inspiration is needed, given the current economic climate,
but Cooper thinks there’s a silver lining.
“Consumers are reaping the most happiness from their
shrinking dollar by spending money for an experience – such
as traveling to a unique location like Tucson or purchasing
tickets to cheer their favorite sports team to victory. This is
more satisfying than buying more stuff. She said research published in the New York Times showed that “spending for vacations, entertainment and sports create lifetime memories and
bring people the greatest level of happiness.”
Cooper is taking that to the bank. “We really want to help
take that message beyond just the borders of Tucson,” said
Cooper. “We have an opportunity to drive more visitation and
create additional business demand for our hotels, restaurants
and downtown. Results have been promising in year one with
increased interest and website traffic.”
Red and blue may not combine to make green in the color
scheme – but it does produce green dollars for the city and the
many businesses that the MTCVB promotes.
Remember that in Byrne’s mind every inch of planet earth
has the potential to be Wildcat country. And who’s to argue
with graduates and potential students (even the non-student

“

Every sporting event offers
us a chance to promote the destination
while infusing the community with
new revenue.

”

– Vince Trinidad
Director of Tucson Sports, a division of the MTCVB

www.BizTucson.com

Capitalizing on PAC-12

With the Pac-12 in its infancy – it
just finished its first year of competition
– Cooper & Co. also see markets like
Utah as huge draws to Tucson. Utah
could fall in somewhere behind the top
five markets – Phoenix, Los Angeles,
Chicago, Denver and Seattle. “We’re
going to see extended reach through
this partnership,” Cooper said.
Arizona and the MTVCB will stretch
that reach as far as it can. Of course,
everyone would like to see the economic benefit of more visitors to Tucson
and UA – especially the impact of Arizona Athletics – because the numbers
are downright staggering.
Within the last two years, UA alum
Kevin Whittier conducted a study with
UA football as his guide. In one of the
Wildcats’ biggest home games of the
2010 season – a night game vs. Iowa in
September – he concluded $8.2 million
was spent in “direct visitor spending.”
Not factored in – partly because it’s
difficult to measure – is the national visibility of the game, broadcast on ESPN,
and how it impacts undergraduate applications, increased merchandise sales
and exposure, Whittier said. Not to
mention ongoing national exposure to
potential travelers.
Bryne uses this study as an illustration
of the impact UA sporting events can
have on our economy. He likes what he
sees because the future will have many
similar games like it. With Oklahoma
State on the schedule this year – and
the Cowboys are known for having a
good traveling fan base – there will be
many games like Iowa when it comes to
generating big dollars. And, oh yes, victories also help. That September night
against the Hawkeyes, UA defeated the
ninth-ranked team, 37-34.

PHOTO: CHRIS MOONEY

Photo: BalfourWalker.com

athletes) coming from anywhere and/
or everywhere? This is the man that has
more than 10,000 Twitter followers and
UA alums from all over the world who
send him photos.

“It’s our mission to impact our economy through tourism in every positive
way,” said Cooper. “One way is through
sports marketing. We want to give fans
of visiting teams an experience that is
fantastic and memorable – showing
them a wonderful time in our destination.” She wants them to have a wincontinued on page 86 >>>

PHOTO: CHRIS MOONEY

Providing “Fantastic” Experiences

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 85

BizTOURISM
continued from page 85
ning travel experience, of course, though she wouldn’t mind
if our team won.
Victory might be tough to come by as the likes of Ohio
State and Nebraska visit – maybe, possibly? – in the next decade. But their fan bases do travel well, so more money would
be coming into the community and UA.
It all means more eyes – and wallets – in town and on the
UA campus.
Tucson Sports’ Trinidad pointed out that McKale Center,
Arizona Stadium, Hillenbrand Aquatic Center and LaNelle
Robson Tennis Center have been hosts to a number of events
– such as the 2005 American Youth Football & Cheer National Championships and the 2010 FINA Junior World Diving
Championships. The 2008 and 2011 USA Volleyball Camp
and High Performance Championships, held at the Tucson
Convention Center, brought more than 3,000 athletes and
spectators.
Tucson Sports either enhances, develops or bids on anywhere from 30 to 35 events a year to come to Tucson. The
MTCVB estimates that since the inception of Tucson Sports
more than 231,000 room nights have been booked, creating
an estimated economic impact of more than $147 million.
Jane McCollum, general manager of the Marshall Foundation, just off UA campus, said her organization feels the
impact of such events immediately.
“Events like USA Diving and USA Volleyball are generally held in the summer when Tucson is less busy,” McCollum said. “We benefit from an influx of young people and
their families who find the Main Gate Square to be a family
friendly location suitable for young people, but with stores and
restaurants adults enjoy.
“Whenever we bring groups of potential college attendees,
there is indirect recruiting going on and the university can sell
itself once they step foot on campus,” McCollum said. “Our
community benefits from well-run events that are supported
by the MTCVB’s marketing and branding of Tucson.”

Hi Corbett Field

86 BizTucson

Hi Corbett Field a Surprising Hit

Arizona’s move from Frank Sancet Stadium to venerable
Hi Corbett Field – newly improved and refurbished – was a
surprise move and considered a risk by UA and Byrne in the
fall – yet one that has been met with overwhelming success
because of good baseball, and to be honest, the sale of beer.
In making the move, Byrne said he felt there was a “natural
affinity” with the community and Hi Corbett, longtime spring
training home of the Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies
and the hometown Tucson Toros. From the first game, which
drew nearly 4,000 fans (more than double UA’s average from
last season) to the end of the season it’s been a hit. Byrne said
exposure of the program and the move has “doubled, maybe
tripled” over the last nine months.
Arizona leads the Pac-12 in attendance, with just over 2,461
fans per game, which also ranks them in the top 30 among all
Division I programs.
Over Memorial Day weekend, UA saw back-to-back
crowds of 5,000, the highest since 1980. The three-day series
with ASU drew 14,055. Last season UA had $69,000 in total
ticket revenue. It was $98,000 this weekend alone for the three
games against ASU, according to Byrne.
“It shows what kind of passion our fans have for our athletes and our athletic department,” Byrne said. “We thought
with the history of Hi Corbett our community would come
out and support it. And they have. This is exactly what we
had hoped for. You analyze the situation and make the best
decision you can. We feel very pleased with how things have
turned out and want it to go long term.”
Then the big surprise. UA was picked to host a NCAA regional starting June 1. UA last hosted a baseball regional in
1992. It last bid on hosting a regional in 2008.
Regional tournaments are broadcast on ESPN, meaning
more national exposure for the Wildcats, and the Tucson
brand. Baseball has been very, very good to Arizona.
“Moving to Hi Corbett gives UA the flexibility of taking
a facility with a rich history that has hosted high-level events
and matching it up with an incredible sports program,” Trinidad said. “Overall, it allows Arizona Athletics to expand their
2010 FINA World Diving
Championships

<<<

Summer 2012

UA vs ASU

www.BizTucson.com

baseball program potential. And it allows us as a city to say
“we’re still a great baseball destination. We know people
want to go to Hi Corbett.”
What’s occurring is Tucson is being exposed as the “hidden gem” that it is. That’s what the relationship between the
MTVCB and the UA is all about – exposing UA sports and
great facilities that are available.
Real Impact on Visitors

MTVCB wants to highlight all that’s great about this
destination – as does Byrne, who emphasizes that UA gets
exposed through millions of television sets and several hundred thousand radios with each football and men’s basketball
game. Such exposure brings close scrutiny.
“What we need to do is make sure we are putting our best
foot forward,” Byrne said. “In doing that, it will help ensure
our ability to grow, create jobs and have great interest from
people.”
Of course, winning helps. “The better our teams do on
the courts, on the fields and in the pool, the better time slots
we’re going to have with our new Pac-12 television network,”
Byrne said.
According to Trinidad, “every sporting event offers us a
chance to promote the destination while infusing the community with new revenue. That’s one of the reasons why this
is such a natural partnership. The MTCVB and Arizona
Athletics are teaming up for maximum impact.”
Thus bringing more visitors to Tucson, putting more fans
in the stands and attracting more ambassadors down the
road to call Tucson home.
A passion for sports brought Harvey Mason to Tucson in
1986 to play four years of UA basketball for Lute Olson. Today the Grammy Award-winning songwriter and producer
lives in Los Angeles – but keeps a second home in Tucson.
“There’s so much about Tucson I miss,” Mason said, “The
people, the athletics, the climate, the scenery, the food and
the lifestyle.”
That’s real experience.

2008 USA Volleyball Camp

Photos: Courtesy Arizona Athletics

PHOTO: LUKE ADAMS

Biz

The Tucson Sports division of
the MTCVB was established
in 2005 under the direction
of Vince Trinidad. Here are
highlights of the department
from a recent conversation
with him:
➢ “Tucson Sports mainly focuses on four team sports – baseball,
softball, soccer and tennis. They tend to bring more out-of-town
visitors. We’ve found that sports are recession resistant. While
companies during the economic downturn focused on cutting expenses, amateur athletics continued – because sporting organizations still need to crown their annual champions. For this very
reason, Tucson Sports was able to make slight increases when
traditional markets had sharp declines.”
➢ “Over Martin Luther King weekend there’s a convergence of
sports events that fill hotel rooms and have an estimated economic
impact of $4.3 million. That weekend is filled with soccer teams
from the Fort Lowell Soccer Club’s Shootout Soccer tournament,
volleyball teams from Club Cactus Volleyball’s Cactus Classic invitational and high-school-age baseball from another showcase
event. This is a shining example of what can be done when you
pair up a Tucson signature event like the Shootout with two other
significant sporting events to create a super-sports weekend. It’s
our goal to create the same magic throughout the year.”
➢ “We work very hard to create lasting partnerships with not only
the national sports organizations, but with local groups as well.
For example, we filled the TCC arena with 3,500 cubic yards of
dirt for a 1,000-rider BMX event – because one of our local sport
groups came to us with an innovative event concept. This event
brings not only prominence of BMX riding to Tucson – but it delivers 2000 out-of-town visitors to us in August. This event is rare in
the BMX world because it’s one of only a handful of BMX national
events held indoors. We also created a kid-friendly fun zone for
the riders to recreate while they are waiting for their events.”
➢ “These events return to Tucson because we make sure their experience here is so great, thanks to our sports services team. We
can’t control how they might compete when we bring an event to
town – but we can do everything within our resources to ensure
they have a wonderful time while in our town. Our national sport
partners constantly tell us that we make their events feel welcome
– and their athletes tell them that in their reviews.”
➢ “Tucson does an incredible job hosting sporting events with the
sporting facilities we currently have in our area. With the yearover-year success of the amateur sports market, there’s now a
need to address sporting venues to carry us into the future. Those
sport venues need to be designed to host competition and not
be recreational in nature. They also need to either complement
the sports we host well, or expand our sport hosting ability. Any
endeavor needs to take into consideration our local sport organizers, needs to expand their current capabilities and aim to make
this region a premier sporting destination. It’s imperative that these
discussions take place now so that we can have new or improved
sporting venues in the next two to three years.”

Biz
www.BizTucson.com

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 87

The Business
Traveler’s Home
Away From Home
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88 BizTucson

<<<

Summer 2012

www.BizTucson.com

BizTOURISM

Tucson’s a Natural
for Geotourism
By Christy Krueger

www.BizTucson.com

ing them to go to Kartchner Caverns,
stay overnight. We need to start by enticing them.”
Cooper said, “Our summer campaign positions Tucson as a natural
playground and elevates the cooler
aspects of our destination that Phoenix lacks.” To Cooper “cool” are our
world-renowned attractions like Mt.
Lemmon, Kartchner Caverns State
Park, Kitt Peak, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Biosphere 2 and Pima Air
and Space Museum.
“We’re fortunate to have so many
distinct and world-renowned attributes,
because as a destination, we can provide the most discriminate traveler an
authentic and memorable experience.
The Real Southwest is resonating in
international markets like Canada, the
UK, and Germany, Cooper said.
In addition to collaborating with the
MTCVB, Ruiz and Neter met up with
the Tucson Advertising Federation and
were awarded a media campaign to
help get the geotourism word out here
at home. “We get media placement and
media partners here. It’s a three-year
commitment for a small investment on
our part.”
The campaign began last July and
has received several creative awards, including Gold ADDYs in the categories
of 30-second TV spot, TV cinematography, print and full campaign. The entries, all created by Godat Design, are
now competing at the American Advercontinued on page 99 >>>

“

Sense of place is
at the center of
The Real Southwest.
The campaign emphasizes
our region’s rich cultural
heritage and plays off
our spectacular climate
and immense
natural assets.

”

– Allison Cooper
Director of Marketing, MTCVB

advancing our city’s financial health.
“What we’re doing is not just tourism
based, it’s more about economic development,” he said.
MTCVB and Neter agree that Phoenix is a key market. The bureau is using
the Real Southwest campaign to draw
travelers south this summer. “Forty percent of Biosphere’s visitors come from
the Phoenix area, but they don’t stay
over,” Neter said. “We need to start tell-

PHOTO: JERRY ROSEN

Photo: Courtesy MTCVB

Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter

director of marketing at the MTCVB.
“The campaign emphasizes our region’s rich cultural heritage and plays
off our spectacular climate and immense natural assets.”
The bureau and the UA found they
were on the same page. Neter emphasized that pushing the geotourism angle
is an important element in the goal of

PHOTO: HOWARD PALEY

The term geotourism was created
by National Geographic to describe
a branch of tourism that sustains or
enhances the geographical character
of a destination. Tucson’s geotourism
leaders define it as a sense of place –
emphasizing what makes this region so
distinctive.
Two primary initiators of the local
geotourism effort are Joaquin Ruiz,
University of Arizona College of Science dean, and Rick Neter, director of
special projects and marketing for the
college.
“I asked Joaquin what is most unique
about our area and he said we have
more plant and animal species than
anywhere in the U.S. except for an ecosystem in Florida. Other markets have
sun and golf courses – but we have biodiversity in the plants and animals of
the Sonoran Desert,” Neter said.
They wanted to start developing ecotourism in Southern Arizona, Neter
said. “So we set off on the process. Joaquin is the leader and visionary. I’m the
implementer,” said Neter, who is also
the director of business and finance at
Biosphere 2.
Ruiz and Neter took their visions to
Metropolitan Tucson Convention &
Visitors Bureau early on. “They were
in the middle of The Real Southwest
branding campaign. They felt geotourism fit with that.”
“Sense of place is at the center of
Real Southwest,” said Allison Cooper,

Arizona-Sonora
Desert Museum
Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 89

“

BizTOURISM

Lights, Camera, Action
in Tucson
By Edie Jarolim
When it comes to Hollywood screen tests, Tucson is a
natural.
“Our proximity to Los Angeles, along with our great weather and great scenery, make us a choice location for the film
industry,” said Shelli Hall, director of the Tucson Film Office,
a division of the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors
Bureau.
That’s been true since long before 1939, when a Western
town set built by Columbia Pictures for the movie “Arizona”
led to the creation of Old Tucson Studios, where hundreds of
classic films were shot. (See “Almost Hollywood” p. 88.)
According to Hall, a majority of the state’s films have been
shot in Tucson and Southern Arizona ever since then -- perhaps 65 percent as a conservative estimate.
In recent years, however, the city hasn’t lived up to its celebrity potential.

PHOTO: GREGORY PETERS

“Goats” on location

“Arizona was in the top five of locations in the nation and
the industry brought in an average of $100 million dollars a
year when I started working at the film office in 1999,” Hall
said. “Now the state doesn’t even rank in the Top 40.”
Many factors led to this decline, including the fall from grace
of the Hollywood Western and the 1995 fire at Old Tucson
Studios that destroyed its sound stage along with many of its
structures. Arizona’s key challenge, however, was one faced by
the entire U.S. film industry. In the late 1980s, when the U.S.
dollar was strong, Canada enhanced its financial attractiveness to filmmakers with a variety of tax incentives designed
to further lower shooting costs. According to a 1999 study
commissioned by the Director’s Guild of America, the feature
films and, especially, made-for-television movies and miniseries that migrated north in the 1990s cost the U.S. economy as
much as $10 billion a year.

MTCVB Ad in Sundance Film Festival Program

“Goats” Tucson Premiere

90 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

www.BizTucson.com

Several U.S. states, including New Mexico, began to fight
back in the 2000s by creating Canadian-style incentive programs. Their success was aided by the growing strength of the
Canadian dollar and the increased cost of getting film crews
to Canada. Arizona had an incentive program for five years,
but it wasn’t renewed – and the state legislature has not passed
new, improved versions that have been presented since.
The result? Bottom-line-focused filmmakers have fled to
surrounding states. That tends to be projects with budgets of
$250,000 and up.
Success with Indies, TV, Commercials

That’s not to suggest there’s been no film action in Southern Arizona. The Tucson Film Office makes it easy for productions that are not dependent on incentives to film here.
Independent filmmakers still relish filming here and TV networks with reality programming – like MTV, Discovery and
the Food Channel – film here multiple times a year, Hall said.
TNT’s first reality competition, “The Great Escape,” created by the producers of the popular “Amazing Race,” filmed
two episodes here in May – one at Davis-Monthan Air Force
Base and the other at the Titan Missile Museum. Watch for
several episodes of the Food Network’s “Chopped,” filmed at
Old Tucson Studios, to air in June.
The Film Office also upped its marketing to the lucrative
commercial advertising market. A single commercial can easily cost $500,000 and more for filming on location in less than
two days. Car commercials especially love Southern Arizona
terrain – Jeep, Cadillac Escalade, BMW and more recently,

Chevrolet have all filmed commercials here.
Other high-end commercials include one for Sketchers featuring Mark Cuban at the Greyhound Race Track that aired
during Super Bowl 2012, as did the recent Chevy Sonic commercial. Print shoots include prestigious catalogs for Urban
Outfitters, J. Crew, Sundance, Roamans and Chico’s.
The Sonoran hot dog segment on the Travel Channel’s
“Food Wars” points to another reason that many shows come
to Tucson to film – they simply cannot find what the city offers
any place else.
“A lot of Discovery Channel shows are based here because
of what’s going on in the sciences in Southern Arizona,” Hall
said. And there’s also the region’s unique weather. “A Japanese film crew comes every summer to film the monsoon.”
Oprah filmed several girlfriend getaway segments at Miraval,
a world-class destination spa with a backdrop you won’t find
elsewhere.
While the city’s role as a location for big-budget projects has
dwindled, its importance as a place to showcase films and to
nurture indigenous industry talent has grown.
Independent Films Debut Here

Victoria Westover, Director of the Jack and Vivian Hanson
Arizona Film Institute (Hanson Film Institute) at the University of Arizona, which has a mandate to work with the community, said, “There is an amazing amount of film-related
activity in Tucson for a city of its size. People in Tucson don’t
realize or appreciate how much is going on.”
continued on page 92 >>>

PHOTO: GREGORY PETERS

Christopher Neil
Director of “Goats”

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 91

continued from page 91

Robert Shelton
Founder
Old Tucson Studios

Almost Hollywood
By Edie Jarolim
Tucson has sometimes been called
“Hollywood in the Desert” – but there
was a time when Los Angeles might
have become “Tucson on the Sea.”
Historian Paul J. Lawton, who has
worked for the last 14 years at Old Tucson Studios, explained that many filmmakers headed west in the early 20th
century to escape lawsuits by New Jersey-based Thomas Edison, who owned
the patents for most of America’s motion picture cameras. Lawton estimated
that the first films were shot in Tucson
as early as 1909. He noted that the Lubin Company and the Eclair Company
both built studios in downtown Tucson
in 1914.
“It’s difficult to know how many films
these companies shot here – maybe 50
or 60,” Lawton said. It was thought that
none of these one-reel silent movies survived – yet an archive of old American
films was discovered in New Zealand
in 2009, and at least three of them
were filmed in Tucson, one at Mission
San Xavier del Bac.
“Tucson was very close to becoming
Hollywood,” Lawton said. A variety of
circumstances -- not to mention the summer weather -- sent filmmakers on to Los
Angeles but they often returned to Tucson.
That return to Tucson became especially notable after 1960, when Robert
Shelton leased a movie set originally
built for the 1939 film “Arizona” from
Pima County and turned it into Old Tucson Studios. Shelton, who sold the attraction in 1985, estimated that at least
300 films were made under his watch
-- and under the watch of many visitors.
“One of the conditions I had with the
92 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

film companies that worked there was
that they had to allow me to have the
front gate opened for tourists. I agreed
to keep those tourists a safe distance
away from the production so they
wouldn’t interfere with it in any way,”
Shelton said.
It usually worked smoothly. “We
grew to be the second largest tourist attraction in Arizona behind the Grand
Canyon,” Shelton said, adding, “They
had a better production manager than
we did.”
Occasionally there was a glitch,
however. When Andy Warhol came to
shoot his Western parody “Lonesome
Cowboys” in 1968, Shelton arrived on
the set early one morning to find the actors practicing horseback riding -- stark
naked.
“In an hour or so we were going
to open the front gate for the tourists to come in,” Shelton recalled. “I
was afraid if they saw all these naked
cowboys, Pima County would break
our lease.” Luckily Warhol -- who later
claimed he was “run out of Tucson” -was agreeable to moving all the nude
scenes to Rancho Linda Vista in Oracle.
Most of the films shot at Old Tucson
were more mainstream. Lawton, who
found a cache of negatives, slides,
proof sheets and publicity stills once believed to have been destroyed in the studio’s 1995 fire said, “It’s hard to name
an A-list star from the 1940s, 1950s,
1960s and 1970s who didn’t do something at Old Tucson.”
A premier selection of these stars and
their films are highlighted in Lawton’s
beautifully illustrated Old Tucson Studios (Arcadia Publishing, 2008).
Biz

That’s especially true when it comes
to independent films
The Loft Cinema, for example, was
one of only 17 movie theaters in the
nation invited to participate in the Sundance Institute’s Art House Project, an
organization of independent theaters.
According to Peggy Johnson, executive
director of the foundation that owns
and operates the nonprofit theater, the
criteria for being chosen were “excellence of programming and involvement with the community.” And in
January 2012, Tucson was selected to
be one of nine Sundance USA participants, hosting a film and filmmaker
during the Sundance Festival. Johnson
said, “The Loft did really well. We were
the first theater to sell out. The community loves independent films.” Aptly
enough, the film showcased was one
shot locally. (See “Love Letter to Tucson” p. 90.)
Besides The Loft, most Tucsonans
know the Screening Room and Fox
Theater as other venues for independent films. Fewer are aware that Grand
Cinemas Crossroads, a locally owned
discount theater, and Century 20 El
Con, a popular commercial movie
house, each dedicate one of their
screens to first-run art films.
Also little known is the key role the
UA plays in bringing films and film talent to town.
Home to Mexican Film Fest

Tucson Cine Mexico, the only film
festival in the nation devoted exclusively to Mexican films, is a co-presentation
of the UA’s Hanson Film Institute and
the Mexican Consulate.
Westover explained, “Every year we
bring up major producers and directors
from Mexico. They’re very impressed
by the quality of the presentations and
the vibrant dialogue with the audiences.” Westover added that the festival
“has definitely put Tucson on the map
in Mexico as a place to bring major
films.” It’s also putting Tucson on the
map as the place in the U.S. to see the
best in first-run Mexican films.
Then there’s Inside Track, a series
of panel discussions by entertainment
industry professionals, from actors
and agents to producers and directors.
continued on page 94 >>>
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“

It’s impossible
to fake Tucson.
New Mexico
doesn’t have
the same cacti,
the same mountains,
the same vibe.
– Mark

”

Poirier, Author of “Goats”

A Love Letter to Tucson
By Edie Jarolim
“Goats” is a quirky, moving film about a boy who
is raised by a single mother (played by actress Vera
Farmiga) and mentored by a goatherd (David Duchovny) before heading East to college.
The film was based on a book by Mark Poirier, who
lived in Tucson from ages 10 to 18 – “my formative
years,” Poirier said. Director Christopher Neil, who
optioned Poirier’s book nearly a decade ago, said, “It
was very clear that Tucson and the surrounding area
were the core of the story. ‘Goats’ was a love letter to
that part of the country and I really wanted to honor
that in making the movie.”
It wasn’t easy to get the film made in Arizona. New
Mexico had a much better incentive program, and the
financiers wanted to shoot there. But, Poirier said, “It’s
impossible to fake Tucson. New Mexico doesn’t have
the same cacti, the same mountains, the same vibe.”
The filmmakers finally took the now customary approach, shooting part of the movie in New Mexico,
part in Arizona.
“We were very lucky to have a huge amount of support from the Tucson Film Office,” Neil said. “Shelli
[Hall] and Peter [Catalanotte] were instrumental in
finding ways to help us save money.”
They shot at several locations, including Sabino
Canyon and the Tucson Mountains, but the primary
location was a Joesler home in the Foothills owned by
real estate agent Heidi Baldwin.
According to Neil, the cast loved Tucson, especially
Farmiga. At the film’s premiere at the 2012 Sundance
Film Festival, Neil said, “Farmiga was wearing the turquoise jewelry she bought in Tucson and kept saying
that she’d fallen in love with the desert. She wants to
come back for a family vacation.”
Neil couldn’t have had a better experience in Tucson, either, as he realized when he returned for the
showing of “Goats” at The Loft during the Sundance
Film Festival. “When I stepped off the plane, it felt like
coming home,” he said. “Goats” is opening in Tucson
and other cities around the country on August 10. Biz
94 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

Vicky Westover of Hanson Film Institute
with Producer Scott Stuber and Shelli Hall

(L to R)

“

Our proximity to Los Angeles, along with
our great weather and great scenery, make us
a choice location for the film industry.
– Shelli

Hall, Director of the Tucson Film Office
a division of MTCVB

”

continued from page 92
Started in 2010 by the Hanson Film Institute in collaboration with the
Tucson Film Office, this event is designed to help students in theatre,
film and television at the UA and local filmmaking talent with professional development. It’s also open to the public.
Westover said, “I don’t think there’s any place in the United States
that has a film institute that runs concurrently with a formal university
program – and I don’t think there’s any other film school that has as
many programs for the community.”
UA Film Pros, Alumni Open Doors

Professors within the film and television program at the UA are all
actively working in the industry. They include Larry Estes, one of the
producers-in-residence, whose long list of credits includes “One False
Move.” And Westover, who teaches film programming, recently produced “Apache 8,” a documentary about an all-women’s firefighting
crew that has been broadcast nationally more than 1,000 times.
The students are clearly benefiting from the program. When director Sam Mendes, who won an Academy Award for “American Beauty,” came to town a few years ago to shoot part of “Away We Go,” the
UA provided students to work as production assistants. Mendes’ production manager was very impressed. “The crew didn’t realize they
were students, they were so good. They thought they’d been flown in
from L.A.,” Westover recalled.
According to Westover, many high-powered people in the film industry live in the Tucson area under the radar. Diana Ossana, who cowrote the screenplay for “Brokeback Mountain” with Larry McMurty,
is just one example. Westover said, “They’re already established so
they don’t need to live in L.A. to find work, and it’s an easy commute
when they’re called.”
Shelli Hall confirms that the Hollywood bond is strong and continues to be strengthened. “We cultivated entertainment-industry alumni
relationships in Los Angeles by having receptions there, with the UA.
We regularly meet with industry professionals and pitch Tucson as a
location to the studios and other production entities. We worked closely with Disney to help craft the 2012 incentive bill,” she said.
“The hope,” Hall added, “is that when the incentive landscape
changes, we’ll still have all those relationships to build on.”

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Mexico Ready Workshops
By Gabrielle Fimbres
Is your business Mexico ready?
Mexican nationals spend $1 billion
in Pima County every year – and the
Metropolitan Tucson Convention &
Visitors Bureau wants to help you grow
your sales to visitors from the south.
“When people think about how to
be ready for Mexican customers, the
first thing that comes to mind is the
language,” said J. Felipe Garcia, VP of
strategic partnerships and Mexico marketing at MTCVB.
“But even more important than being bilingual is being bicultural,” Garcia said. “Many people think that if
they put that Se Habla Español sign in
the window, they are covered. But it’s
not about being Mexico friendly. It’s
about being Mexico ready.”
MTCVB offers free Mexico Ready
workshops for business partners.
“You are selling all the same things
– the same shirts, the same meals, the
same eyeglasses,” he said.
“It isn’t what you sell – it’s how you
sell it,” Garcia said.
He gave the example of a restaurant
at lunchtime.
“We in Tucson are looking to get in
and out,” Garcia said. “We love short
lunch menus. We want the server to
come with the water ready and the
menus and to take our order immediately. We want our food quickly with

maybe one refill of iced tea and the
check. We think that is really good service.”
For Mexican guests, that is the worst
possible service, Garcia said.
With lunch as the large meal of the
day, most Mexican diners are looking

to relax, and spend a couple of hours
enjoying a leisurely meal.
“Offer them a beer, and don’t be in a
rush,” Garcia advised. “Bring a dessert
menu, and never bring the check until they ask for it. And guess what? The
check will be larger.”
If you bring the check before they
are ready, Mexican diners feel pushed
out, Garcia said, and are not likely to
return any time soon.
For physicians, Garcia recommends
getting to know patients. Ask about
where they are from and their families.
Mexican patients want to know that
you care about them.
In the retail arena, Mexican shoppers are often looking for an entire
outfit or wardrobe, not just one item. If
you sell them a shirt but don’t offer to
show them slacks, you are missing out.
After you have made the sale, put the
change in the customer’s hand, not on
the counter, and walk around the counter to hand them the bags.
“These are very simple things that
make a big difference,” Garcia said.
“Being Mexico ready builds your sales.”
In addition to Mexico Ready workshops, the MTCVB offers trade and
fashion shows in Mexico to reach new
customers and routinely brings motor
coaches filled with shoppers to Tucson.

Biz

MTCVB Adds Ciudad Obregón Office
By Gabrielle Fimbres
Vamos a Tucson!
Let’s go to Tucson – that is the message spreading throughout Sonora and
Sinaloa, fueled by the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The bureau built its first Vamos a Tucson office in Mexico in 2006, with a location in Hermosillo, 217 miles south of
Tucson. In March, a second office was
added in Ciudad Obregón, 340 miles to
our south.
“The numbers are looking good,” said
J. Felipe Garcia, VP of strategic partner96 BizTucson

<<<

Summer 2012

ships and Mexico marketing at MTCVB.
The offices provide information on Tucson businesses as well as coupons and
special events for Sonoran residents. The
10 employees in the two offices book
Tucson hotel rooms and sell tickets to Tucson concerts, shows and other events.
Last year, the Hermosillo office saw
a 24 percent increase in the number of
room nights booked, and 2012 is looking positive, Garcia said. In April 2012,
948 room nights were booked through
the two offices.

“We are really excited about the increases we are seeing,” Garcia said.
“We are looking for a double-digit increase in 2012.”
The Ciudad Obregón office “has
helped us reach a new market,” Garcia
said.
“It’s important for us to be part of the
community – and people in Obregón are
so proud that Tucson is paying attention
to them,” he said.

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Tucson Jewel
for Gems
Year Round
By Teya Vitu
Each February, Tucson becomes
the destination for some 55,000 of
the world’s most impassioned sellThe Gem Show
ers and buyers of rocks of all shapes
mobile app has
and sizes who venture to the Southgenerated nearly
west for serious gem shopping.
85,000
Nobody argues that the Tucson
page views
Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase
is the largest gem extravaganza in
the world. But Jane Roxbury argues that Tucson is a vibrant
gem tourism destination even after the hotels clear out and the
huge tents come down.
Just this spring, she launched a page on the Metropolitan
Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau website dedicated to
year-round gem tourism: www.visittucson.org/realgems.
“It was easy for me to repackage the resources we have for
fans of gems, minerals and fossils,” said Roxbury, MTCVB’s
director of convention services. “This is an opportunity for us
to promote those venues that are already here.”
Roxbury discovered that nearly 40 percent of the winter
gem shows are locally owned and operated. Some shows even
provide long-term storage in their warehouses as value-added
for vendors. So far, Roxbury has recruited two warehouses,
five mine tours, six museums, four studios/shops and one bead
shop for the website, with several additional rock and gem
shops recently added.
The gem tourism promotion is perfect timing for A Bead
Carnival, which changed its name from ABC Direct in 2009,
and converted from wholesale to year-round retail in 2010.
“People like the fact they can come to our store any month
of the year and it feels like a mini-gem show for them,” said
Susan Smith, who owns A Bead Carnival with her husband,
Tomas. “We feel the potential for a year-round gem show has
already begun. It’s because Tucson has gained the reputation
of being the heart of the gem and mineral world.”
The Arizona Geological Survey produces a geotourism brochure that is a treasure map to some 20 destinations within 30
miles of Tucson. Geotourism is primed to grow substantially
with the MTCVB internet promotion.
“I would imagine it would balloon very quickly,” said Mike
Conway, chief of the survey’s geologic extension service.
The gem showcase itself in 1994 expanded beyond February with a fall gem show in September. By the time Roxbury
began online promotions of Fall Gem Shows in 2007, a half
dozen or so shows clustered around the Holiday Inn on Palo
Verde Road. The fall gem show attracts about 4,000 attendees
with the next show set for Sept. 6-12.
Roxbury has also brought a dealer or two to set up gem
“trunk shows” at about a half dozen conventions. The growth
potential for tables at conventions is nearly endless, with the
bureau itself booking some 400 conventions and conferences
each year.
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Roxbury’s gem trail has
already brought new visitors to the University of
Arizona Mineral Museum,
which gets about 45,000
visitors a year to its collection of 40,000 items curated over a 125-year period.
“People say ‘I didn’t know
Jane Roxbury MTCVB’s
Director of Convention Services
this place existed. I didn’t
know it was here,’” said
Mark Candee, assistant curator and collections manager.
Candee believes the potential for a year-round gem destination is astronomical, much as even the true value of the twoweek gem showcase is not appreciated.
“The value to Tucson is way underestimated,” Candee said.
“The money that flows through here is phenomenal. A friend
pointed out to me seven billionaires within an hour.”

Biz
continued from page 89

Tucson’s a Natural for Geotourism
tising Federation national level.
Tucson residents are a vital component in attracting new
visitors and businesses to Southern Arizona, Neter explained.
“First and foremost, the thrust of the effort is to educate locals
who can educate those from outside the community. We want
the residents to understand more about the Tucson area. We
need Tucsonans to be ambassadors.”
Tumamoc Hill is an example of a resource that Neter feels
should be more widely promoted, as it was instrumental in
attracting early settlers to Tucson. The Sky Island Sense of
Place Tour is a little-known educational program that teaches
about the various life zones encountered on the way up to Mt.
Lemmon. “On the top is UA SkyCenter, now a public viewing place similar to Kitt Peak,” Neter said. “We have unique
wonders nobody else has.”
Another element of this movement involves the College
of Science forming partnerships in the community. “Joaquin
wants to help Tucson move forward and to bring UA’s experience and assets to help showcase Tucson to the outside world.
He wants businesses to know that UA is here to help. It’s a
resource and needs to be thought of that way.”
Neter would like to push Tucson’s Old Pueblo nickname
into the closet and update the city’s image by referring to it
as Science City. “We have aerospace, biosciences, solar. UA
helped the Phoenix Mars Mission. We have the No. 3 and
No. 6 biotech firms in the world at Innovation Park. It’s about
looking at the city in a new way. TREO (Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities) needs this science push.”
When companies consider relocating, one of their top requirements is to be near a major research university, according
to Neter. Why not emphasize that? “We need to be more vocal
about it and highlight the good things that we don’t always pay
attention to.”
“Southern Arizona’s geotourism and science assets fit right
into our Real Southwest branding and support our seven destination drivers – those unique attributes that draw travelers
here for extraordinary experiences that other destinations cannot offer,” said Brent DeRaad, MTCVB’s new president and
CEO.
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Business is Looking Up
for Region’s Resorts
By Christy Krueger

As the recession slowly slips behind us, Tucson area resorts are experiencing a sense of rejuvenation and optimism about what
lies ahead. Some are finishing projects that had been put on hold, others are getting a fresh start under new ownership and most
are rolling out new projects and programs for guests. Follow along the Tucson resort trail and find out what’s new in 2012.
Upgrades & Renovations

Miraval Arizona resort and spa just completed a ninemonth, $5 million renovation, opening its Life in Balance Spa
May 1. “The new spa is in the footprint of the old,” noted
Carol Stratford, Miraval’s director of marketing. “We’ve partnered with Clarins skin care line to develop a new spa menu.”
Founded 60 years ago in Paris, Clarins is the No. 1 European skincare company. Its collaboration with Miraval allows
the spa to offer customized skin care regimes, professionalgrade products and spa treatments backed by cutting-edge
botanical science, she said.
“We’ve added private spa suites within the spa, and the
women’s locker room is now an indoor/outdoor area. It’s all
designed to bring the outside in,” Stratford said. The same
team that designed The Villas at Miraval – Mithun Architects
and Clodaugh Design – created the reborn spa facility.
Miraval also launched its first cookbook called “Mindful
Eating” with 200 recipes compiled by the resort’s culinary,
beverage and nutritional teams. Each dish invites guests to
incorporate Miraval’s healthy cuisine into their everyday lives.
Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa made headlines earlier this year when it was purchased by Southwest Value Partners, a group led by former Tucsonan Robert Sarver. As the
property enters into a renewed 20-year agreement with Westin, physical changes are underway.
Renovations will be done in phases. “The complete renovation will be $30 million. It’s the largest renovation ever undertaken since we opened and it covers practically all areas of
the resort,” said Richard Brooks, director of marketing.
Updates will begin this summer to meeting spaces and guest
Miraval Arizona

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rooms, and the HVAC equipment will be replaced with a new
type of system. “Instead of re-circulating air, we’re drawing
air from outside to enhance the fresh smell,” which should
also be better for indoor allergy sufferers, he said.
Repairs were done this spring to the 177-foot waterslide.
“This summer we’ll have live music at the pool on weekends
and dive-in movies,” Brooks said.
Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum representatives will provide activities with a family theme. After the summer swimming season is over, remaining pool renovations will be performed, including new decking, cabanas and landscaping.
Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf and Tennis
Resort is in the midst of a $6 million resort remodel. The
biggest project is the conference center, according to General
Manager Lynn Ericksen.
The existing 7,000 square feet of meeting space will soon
become an 11,000-square-foot executive conference center. It
was designed to comply with the standards of the International Association of Conference Centers. If it receives the
IACC designation, as Ericksen anticipates, it will be one of
300 in the world.
Sundance Restaurant also is being remodeled, and the restaurant formerly known as Dos Locos is undergoing a transformation to Southwestern fare, Ericksen said.
All 16 onsite tennis courts were replaced with an improved
surface, and the tennis clubhouse was updated. “We have
several USTA-sanctioned events, both youth and adult tournaments. Members and the public are happy with the new
courts,” Ericksen said.
El Conquistador formed partnerships with the Desert Mucontinued on page 102 >>>

Westin La Paloma

Hilton El Conquistador

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 101

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Westward Look Wyndham Grand

102 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

The Lodge at Ventana Canyon also
recently completed upgrades, including
improvements to the lobby areas, both
golf courses and the stadium tennis
court, according to Janet Hare, director
of sales and marketing. New carpet in
the meeting spaces is planned.
Summer brings activities such as golf
and tennis camps and the popular Flip
& Float, the resort’s version of poolside
movies. Summer golf memberships are
available.
The property’s received high ratings from travel publications, including
Condé Naste Traveler, Golf Digest and
Travel & Leisure. “For 15 years running
we’ve received the AAA Four-Diamond
Award,” Hare said.
Tennisresortsonline.com recognized
The Lodge at Ventana Canyon as a
Top 50 Tennis Resorts in the World for
four years in a row, and both the Mountain Course and Canyon Course were
recently included in Golfweek’s 100
Best Resort Courses list.
Going Solar

White Stallion Ranch is one of
Southern Arizona’s few remaining
dude ranches. Co-owner Russell True
has lived on the ranch since he was five
years old and he’s active today in its operation and management.
Last year True contracted with Solar
Path to install a system that he claims
is the largest private solar installation
in the state and the largest of any dude
ranch in the United States. The ranch
now depends on solar power for much
of its electrical needs.
For the third consecutive year, White
Stallion will be open all summer, breaking its earlier trend of closing during the
warmer months. This is to accommoThe Lodge at Ventana Canyon

date international guests and to attract
corporate business to the 3,000-acre
property that offers meeting rooms, private dining and plenty of activities for
everyone.
After working up an appetite, guests
can chow down in the recently restored
main dining room that’s been returned
to its original early 1900s design.
New ranch offerings this year include
Beer and Cheetos Rides and Wine and
Cheese Rides, both available by horseback or hayride.
Newest Resorts

Casino del Sol Resort, Spa
and Conference Center opened last
November, likely Tucson’s largest hotel construction project completed in
2011. “In addition to the 215-room hotel tower, which includes a full-service
spa and a great steakhouse, we opened
conference space, where concerts are
held, too,” said Steve Neely, chief marketing officer and assistant GM.
The conference center got off to a
strong start this spring with well-attended events including Body and Sol
Old Pueblo Women’s Expo and Tucson
International Mariachi Conference,
which helped boost hotel occupancy.
Casino updates include a new 200seat, multiple-cooking-station buffet, a
newly opened high-limit room and a
remodeled poker room.
The largest project to get under way
this year is the 18-hole, par-72 championship golf course, expected to open
by spring 2013. “Notah Begay designed
it and we’ll have a Jack Nicklaus Golf
Academy,” Neely reported. Begay is the
only full-blooded Native American on
the PGA Tour.
Summer activities include AVA AmWhite Stallion Ranch

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Photo: BalfourWalker.com

continued from page 101
seum and Tohono Chul Park for summer educational programs. The Acacia
pool is now age-restricted (16 and older), with a more peaceful atmosphere,
cabanas, quiet spa music and healthy
spa food. This proved to be a very
popular move, he said. The main pool
remains family friendly.
Westward Look Resort became
a Wyndham affiliate on Feb. 1 and
is now known as Westward Look
Wyndham Grand Resort & Spa.
David Yamada was hired as the new
general manager, coming to Tucson
from the Wyndham Kingston Hotel in
Kingston, Jamaica.
This is Wyndham’s only Grand Collection property in Arizona. “Wyndham was interested (in Westward Look)
for a while. Over time, it became right
for it to happen,” Yamada said.
Remodeling will continue in the resort’s public areas. “With our new ownership plan, we’ll have upgrades in the
next year to the Gold Room and Lookout Bar & Grille and a little in the lobby
area,” Yamada noted.
Throughout 2012, Westward Look is
celebrating a big birthday – 100 years
– with a Call for Treasures contest and
the publishing of a book called “History of Westward Look: 100 Years in
the Making.” Memorabilia collected
during the contest will be displayed in
the hotel lobby. Some items are featured
in the book.
To encourage the public to help celebrate, Westward Look is offering guest
rooms for $100 per night through the
summer.

phitheater’s lineup of musical acts and
the recently launched adults-only swim
party on Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.
at the resort’s new pool. The public is
welcome to join these weekly parties for
a $10 fee, which includes two drinks.
Hotel guests are admitted free.
The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, which opened in 2010, made the
2012 Condé Naste Traveler Gold List
and was voted the No. 3 resort in Arizona last fall in the magazine’s Readers’
Choice Awards. The resort received
one of the highest scores in the nation
on both lists for activities, said Bonnie
Crail, director of public relations.
This spring the resort launched the
Dove Mountain Rangers, a program
for children ages five to 12, which includes its own ranger station and a desert tortoise habitat. “There are cultural
days for kids with teachings on how to
do things related to Native Americans,
cowboys and miners. Pins are given to
kids for completing certain activities,”
Crail said.
Also new is the Sunday Market
Brunch at CORE Kitchen & Wine
Bar. A 42-tree citrus grove was planted
for guests’ picking pleasure. Returning
from last summer is Splash Dining –
where guests enjoy a super cool outdoor
dining experience no matter the temperature – with tables and chairs placed
in the pool.
New on staff are Executive Chef
David Serus, from the Ritz Carlton in
Washington D.C., and Spa Manager,
Marysell Diaz-Garcia, from Ritz-Carlton properties in Coconut Grove and
Sarasota, both in Florida.
Guests who take advantage of the
Summer Returns program receive a
$50-per-night credit at the spa or elseCasino Del Sol Resort Hotel

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where on the property when booking
accommodations and breakfast for two
at the price of $199 per night.
JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort
and Spa incorporates the natural desert as its landscape design theme, drawing on the beauty of its mountainous
location
Opened in 2005, the resort includes
575 spacious guestrooms, 88,000
square feet of meeting space, five restaurants, a 20,000-square-foot spa, four
separate pools and a Lazy River. The
resort’s Arnold Palmer Signature golf
facility consists of 27 holes and practice
facilities.
This is Southern Arizona’s largest resort and the only true eco-resort
in Tucson, said Matt Brody, director
of sales & marketing. The Hashani
Spa incorporates natural desert plant
oils in treatments and offers direct access to Tucson Mountain Park hiking
and mountain biking trails. In April it
was voted among the nation’s top 100
mainland spas by Condé Nast Traveler
readers. The resort’s eco theme extends
to the award-wining Primo restaurant
with celebrity chef Melissa Kelly featuring organic foods and fresh fish.
Guests enjoy extensive water features, including the Starr Canyon Lazy
River experience – a 123-foot-long slide
that links to the Lazy River. The slide
stands 25 feet tall, offering 360-degree
views of Tucson Mountain Park and
the cityscape of Tucson.
A new exclusive island patio was constructed right in the middle of the Lazy
River. “Access is via a custom bridge,”
Brody said, “for group customers only.”
Framed by flowing waters and stateof-the-art lighting, this area is in high
demand. “It is truly spectacular,” he
Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain

Canyon Ranch launched new programs in the past year, some with proven worldwide appeal and others that
are unique.
“We added a high ropes course and
rock wall,” said Sheryl Press, public relations director. “We’ve initiated new
classes like outdoor boot camp and
outdoor adventure activities such as fire
making and arrowhead making.”
Also new this year is Exercise & Motivation, which addresses the psychological and physiological aspects of exercise. “It’s for people who have trouble
exercising – and to figure out why you
don’t like it,” Press said.
Canyon Ranch SpaClub at Sea expanded its cruise line presence this
year. In May it stepped aboard Oceania
Cruises’ brand new luxury ocean liner
Riviera.
Recent accolades for the Tucson location include SpaFinder’s Readers’
Choice Awards in the categories of
Best for Cooking Classes, Best Cuisine,
Best Medical Spa Program and Best for
Men.
Loews Ventana Canyon is gearing
up for summer with a new emphasis on
family activities.
For the Wild Side of Summer program, the resort is teaming up with representatives from the Desert Museum,
on weekends for animal and geology
demonstrations, and “anything they do
as an educational program at the museum,” said Jennifer Duffy, the resort’s
director of public relations. “We like to
say we’re a mini Desert Museum East,”
continued on page 104 >>>
JW Marriott Starr Pass

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 103

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continued from page 103
she added.
Tucson Botanical Gardens also will
be part of the summer fun with its
wicked plants exhibit. And each holiday weekend, the resort will have a solar telescope available. Stargazing and
dive-in movies will continue throughout
the warmer months.
While Loews is targeting families
more than in recent years, it continues
to attract couples with its summer holiday jazz weekends with top international smooth jazz musicians, plus special
room/ticket packages, Duffy said.
Also fitting for adult tastes is the
transformation of The Flying V’s north
patio into a comfortable outdoor lounge
with fire pits. “We created a lovely sitting area, surrounded by vegetation,”
Duffy said.
Condé Naste Traveler picked Loews
Ventana Canyon as one of the Top 10
Arizona Golf Resorts this year. U.S.
News & World Report included the resort on its Best Hotels in the USA list.
Tubac Golf Resort & Spa added
a fun new element to Dos Silos Restaurant with once-a-month Summer Parties held through August. In addition,
Stables Ranch Grille continues its tradition of live entertainment every Friday
and Saturday, said Patti Todd, marketing director.
New executives include Jill Winberg,
spa director, and Stefan Rockel, food
and beverage director.
Golfers can look forward to the resort’s upcoming golf school October
28-31. “It includes three nights stay,
three days of excellent instruction with
swing analysis and a CD to take home,
tournament and prizes, plus breakfast,
Canyon Ranch

104 BizTucson

<<<

lunch and two dinners,” Todd said.
Rates are based on single or double occupancy. A commuter rate is available
for those driving down each day from
Tucson.
The course lays claim to an April visit by Dave Pelz. “He’s the short-game
guru who works with Phil Mickelson,”
Todd noted. Randy Blunt, who plays in
the Autism Charity Golf Classic every
year at Tubac, won a national contest
presented by Golf Magazine. Part of
his prize package was a lesson from Pelz
at Tubac Golf Resort.
Perhaps the biggest news for the resort is a noticeable uptick in business.
“We have more weddings than we’ve
ever had. This is turning into a popular place to have weddings,” Todd said.
“And we have more charity golf tournaments.”
Desert Diamond Casino &
Hotel management believes that client
feedback is important when determining the direction to take with its properties.
The Sahuarita location, now 12 years
old, received minor updates, including
a new video wall in the sports bar, a
VIP room and new AC slot machines,
the first of a kind in Arizona, said Treena Parvello, director of marketing and
public relations.
The Tucson property recently had
some redesigning done to parts of the
floors. “In response to guest feedback,
we added new TVs to the hotel rooms
and we improved the lighting in the
casino, especially around the water features,” Parvello said.
Both casinos also have new executive
chefs – Pascual Rodriguez in Sahuarita
and Michael Bujold in Tucson.
Loews Ventana Canyon

Summer 2012

Summer is when most of the planning and evaluation occurs, Parvello
said. “We understand we need to make
changes to keep up with market needs.
There has to be evolution.”
Desert Diamond Casino & Hotel
has earned the AAA Three-Star hotel
rating. Metromix lists the Tucson location’s steakhouse as Best Steakhouse in
Tucson.
Celebrations

Omni Tucson National Resort
is celebrating its 50th anniversary with
two-night-stay room packages that include a $50 resort credit. This can be
used at all outlets – spa, golf and restaurants, said Dan Dickhart, director of
sales and marketing.
Bob’s Steak & Chop House is running a summer three-course prix fixe
menu for $39.99 Tuesday through
Saturday. Golf specials are also available, such as unlimited golf packages
all summer, and junior golf clinics are
scheduled to keep the kids busy when
school is out. Monthly specials are offered in the 13,000-square-foot, Mobil
Four-Star spa.
The resort recently won Best Golf
Course and Best Bar and Grill locally,
and Bob’s Steak & Chop House was
included in the Talk of the Town list,
an online customer satisfaction rating
service.
Dickhart noted a handful of new and
recently promoted employees at the resort. Tom Nelson is director of financing, Corie Campbell is spa director and
Audra Barrios is catering sales manager.
Promotions include Charliene Horne to
food and beverage outlet manager and
Andrea Bravo to Bob’s Steak & Chop
House manager.
Tubac Golf Resort

www.BizTucson.com

Desert Diamond Casino Hotel

Focus on Food

Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch
Resort is concentrating on its culinary
amenities this summer as it continues to
win awards from restaurant and wine
reviewers.
“The biggest project is the Terraza
Patio Kitchen,” said Tom Firth, managing partner and general manager.
“We’re making the outdoor exhibition
cooking station bigger and better and

www.BizTucson.com

Omni Tucson National

expanding the menu. It’ll be during
June. The patio will still be open in the
evenings and we’ll still have live music
on weekends.”
In May The Grill began offering a
special fixed price three-course menu
that will continue all summer, and
monthly wine dinners are being held
through October. Firth said specials
and music are promoted through its
website under Hacienda Happenings.

Hacienda del Sol

For the 15th year in a row, the resort
received a Best of Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator, Firth said.
“And we were voted a Top 5 Restaurant
again” in a local reader’s poll.
Like most resorts, Hacienda del Sol
is running special summer room rates
while also performing customary upkeep. “We use the lower occupancy
months for maintenance and upgrades
to the guest rooms,” Firth said.
Biz

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 105

PHOTO: STEVEN MECKLER

Glass Act
By Sarah Burton

Tom Philabaum, Glass Artist & Founder, Philabaum Glass
106 BizTucson

<<<

Summer 2012

www.BizTucson.com

BizART
You may think you already know
Tom Philabaum, Tucson’s master of
glass. A longtime resident creative, he’s
widely respected in the local arts community and his gallery and studio are a
must-see stop for art-loving tourists. You
may know about the carefully crafted
glass art that made him (and keeps him)
successful, but not so much about how
he created his business the hard way,
his view on role of art in our region’s
tourism and changes in the downtown
landscape. Read on.
Getting There

After receiving a bachelor of arts in
arts education from Southern Illinois
University and a master’s degree in studio art in Wisconsin, Philabaum headed to Arizona in 1973 to visit his cousin,
escape Chicago for a while and take a
break from his teaching job.
“I never felt I belonged in Chicago,”
he recalled. “I lived all over the state but
didn’t feel comfortable.” Just one look
at the dramatic stretch of Texas Canyon driving on his way to town was all
it took. “I distinctly remember coming
through the canyon there on I-10 and
really flipping out over the saguaros and
boulders.”
Two years later he quit his job in Chicago and officially made the Sonoran
Desert his home, putting together his
first studio next to the Tuller Trophy
building on Sixth Avenue. Nights and
weekends were dedicated to studio time,
but he didn’t quit his day jobs quite yet.
He did a bit of everything – from driving a truck, laying bricks and carpentry
to teaching high school and even a stint
as a roofer. “We used to carry over our
rent payment to our landlord, having
scraped together our pennies, dimes
and quarters and just barely making it,”
he said.
’80s Art Boom

The start of the 1980s kicked off an
enormous swell in the public’s interest
in and desire to buy and collect arts
and crafts, Philabaum said, though not
in the Old Pueblo quite yet. Around

1982 local artists began marketing
their wares by attending American
Craft Council shows where they were
overwhelmed with orders from galleries and museums all over the country.
The Craft Council, made up mostly of
young artists without any background
and art school graduates like himself,
filled an increasing need from the public for arts in mediums like clay, metal,
wood, glass and fiberglass.
“It was an exciting time,” Philabaum
said. “Creativity was flying and we were
actually making money with our craft.”
After founding the Glass Arts Society
in 1983, Philabaum overhauled an old
Tastee Freeze and in 1985 moved his
studio to that space where it remains
today.
Local Arts Blossom

By the early 1990s Tucson’s growing
art scene was finally generating excitement and the Metropolitan Tucson
Convention & Visitors Bureau began to
market the Old Pueblo as an arts hub.
“The MTCVB played an enormous
role in creating this new model of Tucson as a cultural destination – bringing
people here not just for a fat farm, to
see a rodeo, or because of the military,”
Philabaum said. In fact, he points out
the little known fact that Tucson is consistently ranked in the Top 25 Art Destinations in American Style magazine.
“When I first moved here, the Tucson
Museum of Art was in a small house on
Franklin Street. Quite different from
the museum that stands today.”
By 2002, interest in Philabaum’s
work was so high – from locals and
tourists alike – that he opened a second
gallery at St. Philip’s Plaza for the next
five years. Tourism has always played a
role in this struggling, then successful
business model. With the recent installation of glass magic carpets suspended
overhead at the Tucson International
Airport, he’s even had people get in
their rental car there and drive straight
to his gallery on Sixth Avenue to see
more.

He’s seen many changes since moving downtown in the mid ’70s. “Downtown is changing in a great way. I’m all
for new business and it’s really changing for the better,” he said. “Sure, we all
miss the original Café Poca Cosa and
the Santa Rita Ballroom, but the brand
new Tucson Electric Power building
now on that lot is great for all surrounding businesses.”
Passing the Torch – Literally

As studio visitors attest, the observation window is where the action is.
Watching artists working with molten
glass is magical.
“We’ve always had an open studio.
Education has always been a big part
of making art for me,” Philabaum said.
“We closed the studio to the public for
a short time, but quickly realized it was
crazy not to let people in. After teaching
workshops for 25 years, I have a responsibility to pass on what I’ve learned.”
That’s why he co-founded the Sonoran Glass Art Academy in 2000, a
nonprofit organization dedicated to
educating and using glass as a medium.
The academy offers classes for anyone
interested – from glass blowing and
casting to stained glass and mosaics.
In an effort to further push the glass
arts culture here, Philabaum and other
local visual arts heavyweights banded
together to create Tucson’s first glass
festival, aptly named Viva Vidrio – long
live the glass.
“We were really just trying to make
lemonade out of lemons,” he said. “Because of the tourism backlash due to
the controversial SB1070, Tucson lost
the annual Glass Arts Society conference. We wanted to draw people back
here.”
And draw it did. In April of last year
1,200 people attended the three-day
festival with demonstrations and exhibitions at 12 participating galleries across
town.
Anyway you cut it, after more than
30 years, Philabaum remains a glass
act.
Biz

Ericksen is known in the lodging
industry for his commitment to
growing tourism and working with
other destinations to enhance the
visitor experience. He’s upgraded
Hilton El Conquistador with major
renovations, encouraged a green
culture among staff and visitors and
increased exposure of the resort
through numerous awards. In 2011,
Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association named Ericksen Hotelier of the
Year. The resort became part of that
organization’s Certified Green Lodging program. Ericksen was treasurer
for Northern Pima County Chamber
of Commerce and is the outgoing
chairman of MTCVB.

Photo: BalfourWalker.com

520-544-5000
www.hiltonelconquistador.com

Alex Ahluwalia

General Manager, JW Marriott
Starr Pass Resort & Spa
Since 2007, Ahluwalia has
grown the resort’s market share
and led it to receive accolades
from travel media, event
planners and guests. Named
Marriott International’s GM of
the Year for North American
Lodging Operations in 2008,
he came to Tucson from the
JW Marriott Fiji Resort & Spa.
He serves on the MTCVB
Marketing Committee and is
a board member of Southern
Arizona Lodging and Resort
Association.
520-792-3500
www.jwmarriottstarrpass.com

Incoming
Chairman
of the Board
2012-2013
Michael Luria

Executive Director
Children’s Museum Tucson
Luria, who formerly ran Terra
Cotta in the foothills, now leads his
staff in providing fun, play-based
interactive and hands-on learning
experiences for children of the community and their families. He’s taken
the museum through significant
transformations with the addition of
major new exhibits made possible
by community partners. This month
the baton will be passed to him as
the new MTCVB board chairman.
Additional community involvement
includes co-chairing the Tourism
Advisory Committee for the Arizona
Office of Tourism. He also writes the
Meals & Entertainment column for
Inside Tucson Business.
520-792-9985
www.childrensmuseumtucson.org

108 BizTucson

<<<

Summer 2012

Richard Bratt

Shareholder/COO, Tax
BeachFleischman
Bratt’s responsibilities with
BeachFleischman are in the
tax division of the practice.
He serves as the treasurer for
MTCVB and is a member of
its Executive Committee. Other
organizations Bratt has served
include Boys & Girls Clubs
of Tucson, Caballeros del
Sol, Executive Association of
Tucson, Financial Executives
& Affiliates, Arizona Business
Leadership and Rotary Club of
Tucson.
520-321-4600
www.beachfleischman.com
www.BizTucson.com

M T C V B

B O A R D

Sharon Bronson

Wes Clark

John Cousins

As an elected official representing District 3, Bronson serves
constituents in a 7,400-squaremile area covering all of
western Pima County. She’s on
the MTCVB Finance Committee and is a TREO Chairman’s
Circle Member. Bronson also
serves on the board of the
County Supervisors Association
of Arizona and is a member
of the Marana Health Center
Advisory Board.

Although Clark oversees all
sales and marketing efforts for
the hotel, he places a particular
emphasis on downtown and
Tucson Convention Center
events, international visitors
and sports and group bookings. As president of Southern
Arizona Attractions Alliance,
he serves as its representative on the MTCVB board of
directors.

Cousins oversees the operations of the recently renamed
property on North Oracle that
markets to vacationers, business
travelers and extended-stay
guests who are looking for
comfortable accommodations
in the foothills. To keep up with
today’s technology-oriented
traveler, Cousins supplements
his sales efforts with an emphasis on social media.

Vice Chair, Pima County
Board of Supervisors
Pima County Government

520-740-8051
www.pima.gov

Mike Feder

VP & General Manager
Tucson Padres
In his role directing the business end of the Tucson Padres,
Feder is responsible for marketing, accounting, sales, public
relations, ticket sales, merchandise and concessions. He serves
on MTCVB’s Marketing and
Nominating Committees as
well as numerous other community boards including Father’s Day Council and Tucson
Police Foundation. Feder is a
Davis-Monthan AFB honorary commander and executive
director of Caballeros del Sol.
520-954-8803
www.tucsonpadres.com
www.BizTucson.com

Firth is GM/managing partner
of Zona 78 restaurants, as
well as the managing partner with Hacienda del Sol,
He’s currently serving on the
MTCVB Partner Development
and By-Laws Committees.
Other community involvement includes Casas Adobes
Rotary Club, where he’s been
a member since 1989 and is a
past president. He’s also past
assistant governor for Rotary
District 5500.

Gould coordinates all marketing functions for Arizona Shuttle, which operates throughout
the state. He is currently on the
MTCVB Marketing Committee and recently served on the
By-Laws Committee. In addition to his work with MTCVB,
Gould is an active member of
the Southern Arizona Lodging
and Resort Association, the
Arizona Lodging and Tourism
Association and the Southern
Arizona Concierge Network.

520-299-1501
www.haciendadelsol.com

Jim Di Giacomo

Executive Director
Green Valley Sahuarita
Chamber of Commerce
& Visitor Center
Di Giacomo’s chamber
responsibilities include financial
operations, board administration and public relations.
In addition to being a member
of the MTCVB Marketing
and Community Relations
Committees, he serves numerous organizations. Among them
are Southern Arizona Tourism Council and Governor’s
Arizona Mexico Commission.
In 2006 he received the Elks’
Citizen of the Year Award.

Richard J. Gruentzel

Marketing Director
Arizona Shuttle

520-795-6771
www.arizonashuttle.com

D I R E C T O R S

520-625-7575
www.greenvalleysahuarita.com

Tom Firth

Managing Partner
Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch

O F

VP Administration &
Finance/CFO
Tucson Airport Authority
Gruentzel runs the business operations for Tucson International Airport and Ryan Airfield.
Responsibilities include business
and air service development,
property leasing and management, terminal concessions and
ground transportation. He’s on
the MTCVB Finance and ByLaws Committees and is also a
congregation council member
and treasurer of Abounding
Grace Church.
520-573-8100
www.flytucsonairport.com

Summer 2012

>>>

BizTucson 109

M T C V B

B O A R D

Bill Holmes

Chief Operations Officer
Tucson Metro Chamber
Holmes is responsible for all
issues related to the chamber’s
finances, operations and human
resources. He serves as chair
of MTCVB’s Government
Relations Committee, Chicanos
Por La Causa and Interfaith
Community Services Advisory
Board. Holmes is also a member of SKAL and he’s on the
board of trustees for Community Foundation for Southern
Arizona.
520-792-2250
www.tucsonchamber.org

O F

D I R E C T O R S

Helinda Lizarraga

General Manager
DoubleTree by Hilton Tucson
at Reid Park

Heather D. Lukach

Director, Visitor Center
University of Arizona

Pete Mangelsdorf

CEO & General Manager
Old Tucson Company

While overseeing daily
operations of the UA Visitor
Center, Lukach promotes it as a
resource for campus and Southern Arizona. This is achieved
through tours, UA publications
and participating in universitycommunity partnerships and
special projects. Lukach is
currently serving her first year
on the MTCVB board and
chairs its Partner Development
Committee.

Mangelsdorf provides overall leadership and day-to-day
management of Old Tucson.
He’s a member of the MTCVB
Nominating Committee, CEO/
President Executive Search Committee and serves on the Government Relations Committee. He’s
also the State Film Commissioner,
serves on the 88 Crime board
of directors and is a past board
member of Friends of Saguaro
National Park.

520-621-5130
www.arizona.edu/parentsvisitors

520-883-0100
www.oldtucson.com

Barbara Peck

Andrew D. Schorr

Shirley Scott

Strategic public relations/crisis
communications consulting and
CEO coaching in community
relations are among the services
Peck provides to businesses and
nonprofit organizations. She
serves on the MTCVB Community Relations Committee
and as chair and secretary of
the MTCVB Executive Committee. Peck has been honored
as Tucson Metro Chamber
Woman of the Year and serves
on the board of directors for
University of Arizona Health
Network and Salpointe Catholic High School.

As a partner in Lewis and
Roca’s Business Transactions
Practice Group, Schorr handles
the firm’s commercial real estate dealings. He’s chair of the
MTCVB By-Laws Committee,
a member of Arizona’s Public
Media Community Advisory
Board and past board member
of the Jewish Federation of
Southern Arizona. Schorr was
included in the 2003-2012
editions of The Best Lawyers in
America in real estate law.

Scott was elected to the City
Council in 1995. She’s a member of the Board of Directors
of Pima Council on Aging,
Pima Prevention Partnership
and Advisory Committee for
Tucson Clean and Beautiful.
She’s served on the Budget
Advisory Committee and as
Chairperson of the National
League of Cities Committee
on Community and Economic
Development. She serves on
the MTCVB Government
Relations and CEO/President
Search Committees.

Lizarraga oversees and manages all operations of the hotel,
including budgets, forecasts and
developing team members. She
is very active with MTCVB,
serving on the Community
Relations, Finance, Nominating
and CEO/President Executive
Search Committees. Lizarraga is Second Vice Chair of
Southern Arizona Lodging and
Resort Association and was
named Representative of the
Year, 2009-2010, by Executive
Women’s International.
520-323-5211
www.dtreidpark.com

Tom Moulton

Director of Economic
Development and Tourism
Pima County
Moulton serves as the county’s
government liaison with Tucson’s economic development
agencies, and he works with the
MTCVB Marketing Committee representing the area’s
attractions. He has numerous
community affiliations, among
them founder and director of
Southern Arizona Attractions
Alliance and board member of
Southern Arizona Lodging and
Resort Alliance.
520-243-7355
www.tucsonattractions.com

Owner
Barbara Peck Public Relations

520-360-5120
110 BizTucson

<<<

Summer 2012

Partner
Lewis and Roca

520-629-4414
www.LrLaw.com

Council Member
City of Tucson

520-791-3199
www.tucsonaz.gov

M T C V B

Chris Smith

Owner
Tucson & Scottsdale Golf
Vacations/Mountain Vista
Real Estate
As owner of these vacation
business endeavors, Smith is
continually seeking out and
evaluating unique marketing
opportunities and new avenues
for additional growth. He is a
member of the MTCVB board
of directors’ Marketing Committee. Smith is proud to be a
veteran of the U.S. Navy and a
Persian Gulf War veteran.
520-877-7924
www.tucsongolf.com
www.weknowtucson.com

Mark Van Buren

General Manager
Tucson Marriott
University Park

Van Buren is responsible for the
overall operation of the hotel.
He is also co-chairman of
Southern Arizona Lodging and
Resort Association and serves
as its representative on the
MTCVB board of directors.
520-792-4100
www.marriott.com/tusup

www.BizTucson.com

B O A R D

O F

D I R E C T O R S

Mary Snider

James Trudeau

Russell True

Together with fellow council
members, Snider provides
policy direction to the town
by adopting rules, regulations
and procedures to meet community needs. She’s a member
of the MTCVB Government
Relations Committee, VP of
Amphitheater Public Schools
Foundation and board member
of Oro Valley Community
Foundation. In 2007 Snider
was the inaugural recipient of
the Northern Pima County
Chamber of Commerce
Legacy Award.

Trudeau is responsible for all
business activities and operations
of United Airlines in Tucson. His
current role with the MTCVB
board of directors is to work with
the Partner Development Committee.

As with all small businesses, True
said, he does whatever it takes to
successfully run his ranch – from
cooking to wrangling. He serves
on the Marketing Committee of MTCVB, is president of
the board of trustees for Green
Fields Country Day School and a
former president of the National
Dude Ranchers Association and
the Arizona Dude Ranch Association.

Council Member
Town of Oro Valley

General Manager
United Airlines, Tucson

Co-owner
White Stallion Ranch

520-573-8259
www.united.com

520-297-0252
www.whitestallion.com

520-229-4997
www.orovalleyaz.gov

Howard W. Volin

President & CEO
Graphic Impact

Founded 23 years ago in Tucson
by Volin, Graphic Impact fabricates signs, banners, printed
material, awards, plaques and
printed apparel, producing all
product lines in-house. He is
currently chair of the MTCVB
Marketing Committee and is a
member of the MTCVB Community Relations Committee.
520-795-7446
www.graphic-impact.com

David Welsh

Paul Zucarelli

Executive VP
Tucson Regional Economic
Opportunities

President
CBIZ Benefits
Insurance Services

Welsh is responsible for managing
a wide range of economic development programs and projects
while also working with stakeholders and regional economic
development partners. He’s new
to MTCVB, but elsewhere in the
community he’s involved with
Habitat for Humanity, Arizona
Town Hall and Business Development Finance Corporation.

Zucarelli functions as president
of CBIZ Arizona practice
for employee benefits and
retirement plans. He’s on the
MTCVB Executive Committee, as well as the Marketing
and Government Relations
Committees. Other current
community activities include
member of Tucson Conquistadores and board member of
Dependable Health and Heatlh
Plan Alliance.

El Rio Community Health Center Awarded $5.5 Million
By Sarah Burton
After more than three decades, the 36,000-square-foot Gomez building that houses El Rio Community Health Center
on Congress Street is beginning to show its age. Plans to rebuild the clinic are now possible thanks to two federal grants
totaling $5.5 million.
El Rio on Congress is the organization’s original site where
15,000 patients are seen annually. Since the first clinic opened
El Rio has grown to serve 76,000 patients annually in 16 locations.
Plans to rebuild the 34-year-old clinic are now possible
thanks to the announcement by Dr. Mary Wakefield from the
Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. El Rio
will receive federal grants under the Affordable Care Act program.
“These were highly competitive grants, so this is a real cause
for celebration,” Wakefield said at the press conference she
traveled from Washington D.C. to attend.
“Community health centers like this one are leading the
way. Without a doubt you can be very proud of your work
here in Tucson,” she said.
The $5 million grant will go towards the projected $14 million needed to complete the new clinic. Construction is slated
for January 2013 with the existing clinic remaining operational
– ensuring that quality service for patients is not affected. The
facility should be completed by 2014.
“This project exemplifies and honors our commitment to

the downtown area,” said Kathy Byrne, El Rio’s executive director and CEO. “This is a great clinic, and really the anchor
of our organization. It has served us well, but it’s aging. We’re
looking forward to preserving and growing it.”
“It really takes a whole team to make this work, so we owe
a big thanks to our grant writing team, Ken Burton and John
Blackburn,” Byrne added.
The new building will be designed to meet LEED certification standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council. This
will be El Rio’s third clinic to receive such certification. It also
will be designed with a specific focus on promoting wellness.
Since it will be larger than the original structure, the facility will accommodate eight additional health care providers,
which means treating nearly 7,000 more patients a year.
The project will ultimately create jobs for 25 full-time employees at the health center, as well as numerous constructionrelated positions.
“Community health centers are one of the best investments
we can make in any sector of the economy,” said Congressman Raul Grijalva, representative of the 7th district where the
Congress clinic is located. “This is a terrific boost to the entire
region, and I sincerely thank HHS for meeting our need with
the appropriate resources.”
The second grant award – $494,638 – will fund renovations
and buy much needed equipment for El Rio’s southwest location, helping increase operational efficiency and patient flow
and increasing patient visits by 25 percent.

Biz

Pardon Our Dust
The impending construction for El Rio’s
new Congress clinic is not the only stirring in the area just west of the freeway
from downtown. The new Mercado San
Agustin – boasting bakeries, a taqueria,
www.BizTucson.com

several shops, a bustling and popular
Thursday farmers market and a recently
opened Agustin Brasserie – is no longer
the new kid on the block. Major construction is now underway on new Armory

Senior Housing, as well as the future location of the last stop on the line for the
Sun Link streetcar system.

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 115

BizBENEFIT

Paul Bonavia

John Rafferty

Joaquin Ruiz

Ron Shoopman

2012 Fathers of theYear
Father’s Day Council Tucson has raised $2.6 million
to support type 1 diabetes research
By Gabrielle Fimbres
More children around the world –
some not yet a year old – are being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes than ever
before.
The disease can leave families reeling
with concerns over day-to-day management and future complications.
The Father’s Day Council Tucson is
funding research and making life better for Southern Arizona children with
type 1 diabetes. Since 1995 FDC has
raised $2.6 million for Steele Children’s
Research Center.
“Father’s Day Council has been a
very big blessing – helping in big ways
and in small ways,” said Dr. Mark
Wheeler, pediatric endocrinologist at
the University of Arizona.
At the heart of the organization’s
fundraising efforts is the Father of the
Year Awards Gala Dinner & Silent
Auction, slated for June 16 at Loews
Ventana Canyon.
The 2012 Fathers of the Year are
Paul Bonavia, John Rafferty, Joaquin
Ruiz and Ron Shoopman – each honored for mastering the balancing act of
fatherhood, career and civic involvement.
“We are helping to save people’s lives,
sometimes through simple things that
116 BizTucson

<<<

Summer 2012

help children live a healthy life,” said
FDC Chair Lee Shaw.
Through FDC funding, the Angel
Wing for Children with Diabetes at
Steele is able to care for more children
with diabetes, currently treating 650.
“It has been tremendous,” Wheeler
said of contributions by FDC. “Before
they became involved, there was one
pediatric endocrinologist and really no
research. Over the last eight years, we
have grown from one endocrinologist
to four, with another coming in November.”
Funds raised have been used for a variety of research projects at UA including:
• Investigating the link between poor
sleep patterns in children and poor
glucose control
• Examining which relatives of people
with type 1 diabetes are more likely
to get the disease and methods of
prevention
• Investigating methods of extending
the “honeymoon” period in recently
diagnosed patients by extending pancreatic function
FDC funds are also being used to attract highly regarded diabetes researchers to UA.

Wheeler said it is believed that there
are both genetic and environmental
components to type 1 diabetes. It is
thought that those who develop the disease had a genetic predisposition triggered by a virus or other environmental
insult.
“If it can be determined who is at risk
genetically for type 1 diabetes, treatment could be developed to prevent it,
like a vaccine,” he added.
The better researchers understand
the disease, the closer they come to
finding a cure, Wheeler said.
While he said there is much work to
be done, promising global research involves the development of an artificial
pancreas that would regulate insulin, as
well as strategies for preventing the immune system from destroying the cells
that produce insulin.
While efforts to find a cure are critical, helping people to manage the disease is just as important.
“Diabetes is a drag of a disease to
have and anything you can do to help
make managing it easier and better
while we’re waiting for a cure is part of
the goal,” he said.
FDC funds are used for new technology to help manage blood sugar
www.BizTucson.com

levels and for creating a teen room for
patients with diabetes, complete with
a TV, computer and giant bean bag
chairs. Money also is used in an incentive program, where kids receive prizes
for reaching goals, such as increasing
exercise.
Better management of the disease results in fewer long-term complications,
which include amputation, Wheeler
said.

Dr. Fayez Ghishan, head of the UA
Department of Pediatrics, said the “incredible” fundraising work of FDC allows Steele to improve clinical care for
children.
“We simply could not continue this
important work without their support –
so we are eternally grateful for Father’s
Day Council Tucson,” Ghishan said.

Paul Bonavia has advice for
dads trying to balance family, career and community
involvement – lots of caffeine.
“Just don’t sleep,” he
mused. “That’s pretty much
the strategy, that and a dozen
cups of strong coffee.”
Bonavia is chairman and
CEO of Tucson Electric
Power and UNS Energy
Corp., formerly UniSource
Energy Corp. He is a 2012
Father’s Day Council Tucson
Father of the Year.
Bonavia and his wife, Pat,
are parents to Christopher,
37, who lives with his family in Brooklyn, and Laura
Claughton, 35, who lives with
her family in Texas.
“We travel to see the grandkids as much as we can, and
with Face Time and Skype,
it’s easier to keep in touch,”
Bonavia said.
They took the family to
Disneyland last fall – not
exactly Bonavia’s idea of a
vacation. Yet watching his
little princesses with the Disney princesses “was 1,000
times better than I could have
imagined.
“It’s so important to build
those memories,” Bonavia
said. “It’s kind of the glue in
life.”
Also important is keeping
a sense of humor. “You can’t
balance family and work perfectly. You just have to do the
best you can and you have to
laugh it up a bit. Without hu-

mor, you’d really be cooked.”
Originally from Rockford,
Ill., Bonavia earned degrees
from Drake University and
the University of Miami
School of Law, and completed Harvard Business School’s
Advanced Management Program. He took the helm of
TEP and UNS in 2009.
He has worked to expand
the company’s leadership role
in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
A company culture of
giving back through volunteerism has long been in
place at TEP. “I’ve never seen
a place where people put so
much of their time and effort
into the community,” he said.
“The concept of giving back to the community
sounds good – but the real
truth is it’s fun and rewarding,” he added. “You can’t be
a good utility company without being a big part of the
community.”
Bonavia’s community involvement is focused on creating higher-wage jobs for
Tucson.
He said raising money for
type 1 diabetes through Father’s Day Council is vital.
“The disease is so pervasive and we are seeing it in increasing numbers,” Bonavia
said. “It doesn’t just affect the
person, it affects the family,
and it is a blight on the quality of life for people.”

Biz

www.BizTucson.com

2012 FATHER OF THE YEAR HONOREE

BizHONORS

John
Rafferty

Family Traditions Priority

John Rafferty likes to think
of Stewart Title & Trust as
one big family.
When rodeo vacation
comes and many of his 78
employees have nowhere for
their kids to go, Rafferty hosts
Camp Rodeo. Employees
bring children to work and
Stewart’s marketing department treats them to Old Tucson, Reid Park Zoo, skating
and miniature golf.
“We really are a family,”
said Rafferty, president of
Stewart Title & Trust of Tucson and a 2012 Father’s Day
Council Tucson Father of the
Year.
Family has always been a
priority. Rafferty made sure
he was at his children’s sporting events, and weekends
were reserved for camping
and church with the family.
“I always made room
for the sports – the football
games, the wrestling matches,” Rafferty recalled. “My
daughter was a bat girl at
University of Arizona baseball games and was on the
pom line.”
This grandfather of seven
gathers the family together
at Christmas, spring break
and throughout the year. Son
Steven, 49, lives with his family in New Jersey. Daughter
Kelly Hughes, 46, and her
family live in Scottsdale.
“If I had any advice it
would be this – kids grow up
www.BizTucson.com

very quickly. Set traditions
with them now and keep
them,” Rafferty said.
Rafferty was born in New
Jersey and spent four years in
the Marines. He moved the
family to Arizona in 1962 to
control asthma and bronchitis in his oldest son Michael,
who died in an accident in
1984.
The family lived in Silverbell, with Rafferty working as
an accountant for ASARCO
and attending night classes at
UA.
He became controller at
Stewart in 1974, and has remained with the company
since. In 1981, he moved to
Phoenix to serve as CEO.
In 2004, Rafferty was
asked by Stewart’s board of
directors to return to Tucson,
which he did. Since returning, he has increased market
share from 3 to 23 percent
and built the staff by 41 employees. This year, the company experienced its best first
quarter revenues in 51 years.
Rafferty is pleased to raise
funds for type 1 diabetes research as a Father of the Year.
“It’s a horrific disease that
can cripple children,” Rafferty said. “I am very hopeful
for a cure.”

Photo: www.balfourwalker.com

By Gabrielle Fimbres

“

Kids grow up
very quickly. Set
traditions with
them now and
keep them.

John Rafferty

”

President
Stewart Title & Trust of Tucson

Family
Son Steven, daughter Kelly and son Michael, who died in 1984;
grandchildren John, Matthew, Kevin, Brandon, Kelsey, Connor
and Lily
Involvement
Peppi’s House at Tucson Medical Center, Habitat for Humanity,
Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, Hearth Foundation

Biz
Summer 2012

>>>

BizTucson 119

2012 FATHER OF THE YEAR HONOREE

Joaquin
Ruiz

Building Team Ruiz

“

He is a
wonderful
kid and my wife
is a wonderful
wife and mom.
We are a team.

”

Joaquin Ruiz

Executive Dean, University of Arizona
Colleges of Letters, Arts and Science
Dean, UA College of Science

By Gabrielle Fimbres
When Joaquin Ruiz’s tiny
son came into the world 25
years ago, the future was uncertain.
He was born too early, weighing less than two
pounds. Ruiz and his wife,
Bernadette, spent months in
the intensive care unit at Peter’s side.
Today, Peter, who has cerebral palsy, is a busy 25-yearold man – and the joy of his
parents’ lives.
“Peter is such a happy and
easy-to-get-along-with kid,”
said Ruiz, dean of the University of Arizona College of
Science and a 2012 Father’s
Day Council Tucson Father
of the Year. “It’s just a joy to
be with him.”
Bernadette Ruiz, an attorney, worked with the Jewish
Community Center to create
a program for adults with disabilities, and Peter takes part
during the day. He enjoys Judaic studies, reading to kids
and learning Spanish.
“He has a very rich day,”
Ruiz said.
Father and son love going
out to eat – always Mexican food. They cheer on the
Wildcats at football games
and enjoy programs at the
UA School of Dance. Peter
often accompanies his dad to
the office on weekends.
“He is in a wheelchair but
otherwise incredibly healthy,”
Ruiz said. “He is a wonderful
kid and my wife is a wonderful wife and mom. We are a
team.”

The family enjoys traveling, and Peter has been to
Israel, Spain, Paris, Germany
and Mexico.
Joaquin Ruiz was born in
Mexico City to a New York
mother of Polish descent and
a Spanish father. “I was assembled in Mexico with imported parts,” he said.
His parents were not highly
educated, “but they were very
well read and appreciated
good art and classical music,”
Ruiz said.
After growing up in Mexico, he received bachelor’s
degrees in geology and chemistry at the University of Miami. He received a master’s
degree and doctorate in geology from the University of
Michigan and joined the UA
faculty in 1983. He was appointed Dean of the College
of Science in 2000.
Ruiz partners with K-12
education and the community to spread science beyond
university walls.
“We owe it to the community to be part of it,” he said.
“To have a working democracy you have to have an educated population.”
Through Father’s Day
Council fundraising, Ruiz is
happy to help combat type
1 diabetes, inspired by Dr.
Fayez Ghishan, head of the
UA Department of Pediatrics. He calls Ghishan “a fireball.”
“I always bet on people –
and the program he has created is incredible,” Ruiz said.

Biz

www.BizTucson.com

2012 FATHER OF THE YEAR HONOREE

BizHONORS

Ron
Shoopman
Fatherhood, Leadership
A Happy Mix
By Gabrielle Fimbres

www.BizTucson.com

and she is one of our kids,”
Shoopman said.
While it is a juggling act,
family is always the priority,
he said. “Vickie and I put our
kids first in all that we do.”
The son of an Arizona
lumber yard owner, Shoopman is a retired Air Force
brigadier general and a former wing commander of
the 162nd Fighter Wing. He
served as sales manager for
Gates Learjet Corp., a pilot
for Continental Airlines and
an instructor pilot and manager for Flight Safety International.
He took the helm of SALC
in 2005. Under his leadership, the organization now
includes about 100 CEOs
involved in issues that impact
Southern Arizona – including education, infrastructure,
health care and governance.
“We have had marquee
success – but we have work to
do to make Tucson the best it
can be on the foundation of a
solid economic base,” Shoopman said. “There is nothing
better to help kids who go to
bed hungry at night than creating jobs for their parents.”
Shoopman is pleased to
raise funds for type 1 diabetes. “Hopefully the Father’s
Day Council will help more
community leaders understand about the devastation
of this disease,” he said.

“

There is
nothing better
to help kids
who go to
bed hungry
at night than
creating jobs for
their parents.

Photo: www.balfourwalker.com

Serving as a community
leader is a lot like raising children – there’s always sacrifice
involved.
Just like in child rearing,
the time spent in nurturing
and building relationships in
the community pays off in
the results, said Ron Shoopman, president of Southern
Arizona Leadership Council and a 2012 Father’s Day
Council Tucson Father of the
Year.
“It’s all in the juggling,”
Shoopman said of parenting.
“You have to arrange your
schedule and prioritize the
things that are important.”
Shoopman and his wife,
Victoria, a nurse, have been
blessed with a tremendous
family. “All three of our kids
are college graduates and I
have five grandbabies,” he
said. “I am a happy guy.”
Son Chad, 38, lives in Orlando, where he is lead trumpet player at Disney World.
Daughter Brandi Dignum,
36, is a music teacher at Richardson Elementary School in
Tucson. She was selected as
one of the top five teachers in
the state by the Arizona Educational Foundation in 2011.
Daughter Bethany Lashmet, 38, is a teacher living in
Japan. She joined the family
at age 14 after losing both
parents – her father to an allergic reaction to bee stings
and her mother to cancer.
“We are mom and dad

Dynamic
Duo
Positive Energy for Diabetes Research
By Gabrielle Fimbres
As they motored through Texas on a
family trip a dozen years ago, Lee and
Laura Shaw realized something was
terribly wrong with their 22-month-old
daughter, Olivia.
The usually joyful toddler was crying miserably, and her eyes would glaze
over.
A trip to urgent care followed by five
days in intensive care brought the diagnosis – type 1 diabetes.
“Her blood sugar was through the
roof and we didn’t know it,” Lee said.
“She was close to a coma,” added
Laura.
The Shaws knew their lives had
changed forever.
Inspired by Olivia, the couple is dedicated to helping other families cope
with type 1 diabetes.
Lee is chairman of Father’s Day
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Summer 2012

Council Tucson, which raises funds for
type 1 diabetes education and research
through Steele Children’s Research
Center at the University of Arizona.
Both were involved with Juvenile
Diabetes Research Foundation, with
the family raising more than $38,000
through the annual walk.
Lee, an architect and partner at Ansaldi Shaw Design, and Laura, senior
VP for marketing and communications
at Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities – or TREO – are committed to
making Tucson a better place to live.
In addition to raising funds for type
1 diabetes education and research, Lee
is Cub Scout den leader for 9-year-old
son Will’s troop and the infamous Popcorn Kernel, overseeing fundraising efforts.
Laura is a board member for Cata-

lina Foothills School District Foundation, supporting the district her children
attend. She serves as a member of the
Carondelet Health Network Strategic
Planning Committee and the Barber
Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding. She is a governing board
member and graduate of Greater Tucson Leadership and was recognized as
one of 11 “Ordinary Women Doing
Extraordinary Things” by UA’s Eller
College of Management.
The Shaws fill any room they’re in
with their smiles and spirit. “Laura and
I spread positive energy wherever we
go,” Lee said. “I look at everyone as my
friend and that’s how our children are.”
Close to their hearts is the work they
do regarding type 1 diabetes.
“The big drive is to find a cure, but I
don’t even think about a cure, to tell you
www.BizTucson.com

the truth,” Lee said. “I think about the
families who have just been diagnosed
and how we can help them.”
Dr. Fayez Ghishan, head of the UA
Department of Pediatrics, said the
Shaws are improving life for people
with type 1 diabetes.
“Lee and Laura Shaw are examples
of parents who were devastated by the
news that their daughter Olivia had
type 1 diabetes – but they turned it
around and decided to make it an opportunity to give back,” Ghishan said.
“They are working to make the lives
of other children with diabetes better by
making our Angel Wing Clinic an even
friendlier and more effective place for
kids to be treated – and by helping raise
funds for research into type 1 diabetes
causes and a cure,” Ghishan added.
Paul Bonavia, chairman and CEO of
Tucson Electric Power and UNS Energy Corp., said he is “knocked out by the
Shaws.
“If you want to get something done
in Tucson, you go to Laura,” he said.
“And I have been impressed with Lee
in his work with Father’s Day Council.
I love people that lead through dedica-

www.BizTucson.com

tion and perseverance.”
The Shaws were raised in Dallas, and
met at a birthday party at Lee’s New
York City loft, where Laura was visiting
a friend. They fell in love and married
in 1992.
They moved to Albuquerque and relocated to Tucson 12 years ago.
“We fell in love with Tucson,” Lee
said. “I feel like I’m on vacation all the
time. I love the outdoor way of life.”
“The flip-flop lifestyle,” as Laura
calls it.
The Shaws built their family here,
and put their energy into making their
schools and community the best it can
be.
“The schools are awesome,” Lee
said. “It’s a great environment to raise
a family.”
Said Laura, “Everywhere I go, I run
into someone I know and I love it. I love
the work I do at TREO trying to make
Tucson a better place for future generations.”
The couple radiates a positive
attitude, despite serious medical challenges.
Lee was diagnosed with kidney can-

cer, and successfully underwent a difficult surgery.
In 2005, Laura was showing one of
Olivia’s teachers how to test blood, using her own. She found she had also developed type 1 diabetes.
Once Olivia got the news, she said to
her mom, “You’re my soul sister.”
Olivia has grown into a beautiful
14-year-old, ready to tackle high school
and the world. She loves volleyball,
writing and poetry, and looks just like
her mom.
“We are very close,” Laura said. “We
understand each other.”
The Shaws say diabetes does not define Olivia.
“From the beginning, we didn’t believe she was a diabetic,” Laura said.
“She was a child with diabetes.”
The Shaws work towards making
managing the disease easier.
“You never get a break from diabetes,
ever,” Lee said. “I know what we are doing is important because diabetes is on
the rise and to help people and families
with the disease, that’s why I am here.”

Biz

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 123

BizINVESTMENT
Humberto S. Lopez
President, HSL Properties

Trending
in Tucson
Upscale Rentals

Photo: BalfourWalker.com

By Christy Krueger

124 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

www.BizTucson.com

Photos: BalfourWalker.com

Encantada at River Crossing

“

The average income is $110,000 at Encantada.
They’re renting by choice. It’s the lifestyle
they’re looking for.
– Humberto

A new, upscale rental community called
Encantada Riverside Crossing was recently completed on the near west side,
with 304 luxury apartments. Developer
Humberto S. Lopez says they are going
like hot cakes.
Lopez, of HSL Properties, said reaction to the development is a positive
sign that this segment of the housing
industry is trending upward.
Lopez came to Tucson in 1980 with
plans to retire. He quickly discovered
that retirement wasn’t for him and he
returned to buying, selling and developing properties as he had in California.
With a keen sense of real estate
foresight, his investment decisions are
purposefully made. During the 1980s,
Lopez built large apartment complexes,
but six years later market trends told
him to switch gears.
“In the early '80s, it was cheaper to
build,” he said. When that changed, he
began purchasing existing properties.
“I got back into development in the last
year.”
Between those phases, he bought
and sold, depending on market shifts.
“Apartments were converted to condos
in 2005, so the high-end apartment
market disappeared.” While some of
those projects were successful, others
were not, so Lopez jumped at the opportunity to buy at the right price.
One investor group paid $12 million
for a condominium conversion property and added $8 million in renovations,
but couldn’t sell any units. Lopez purchased it for $12 million. He paid $14
million for another complex that conwww.BizTucson.com

S. Lopez, HSL Properties

dominium converters had purchased
for $30 million.
The home market fell in recent years
due to a number of factors, Lopez said.
Among them were excess inventory and
renters buying homes they couldn’t afford.
“What happened, people moved out
of apartments into homes. We lost good
tenants that shouldn’t have bought a
home, but they came back. And a lot
were bought by investors. Their homes
also went vacant, and at the market collapse, there were too many homes.”
Rentals did not experience significant
swings during this period. “Apartment
occupancies remained about the same.
We started making concessions, such as
one to two months free, so rental rates
dropped,” Lopez stated. “Now concessions are half a month or none. Occupancies at the lowest were 88 percent,
now it’s 90 percent.”
What has changed, Lopez noted, is
the number of people who can afford
to buy homes but are opting for upscale
rentals with lots of amenities. “The
average income is $110,000 at Encantada. They’re renting by choice. It’s the
lifestyle they’re looking for.”
That includes granite countertops,
high ceilings, a resort-like pool, 24-hour
fitness center, a theater, dog run and a
Starbucks coffee bar. “We’re the first
large builder certified by Tucson Electric Power,” Lopez said, with a guaranteed utility rate of $1 per day per unit.
Rillito River Park is located right out
the door and tenants can check out
bicycles at no charge. Monthly rental

”

rates at the gated community range
from $869 to $1,299, and a variety of
floor plans are available up to 1,313
square feet.
HSL has purchased land at two other
sites for the construction of additional
luxury apartments. Lopez anticipates
Encantada Dove Mountain to break
ground this summer and construction
to start at Encantada Steam Pump later
this year.
Lopez said he’s owned and operated
approximately 20,000 apartment units
over the years. He currently has close
to 10,000 units in Arizona, spread out
over 40 properties. Thirty of those are
in Tucson.
While running the business keeps
him on his toes, Lopez has always made
time for community work. He’s served
on numerous boards and chaired several organizations, among them University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center,
United Way, 88-Crime, YMCA and UA
Foundation.
He was recognized as Man of the
Year by Tucson Metro Chamber, Business Man of the Year by the Tucson
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and
Father of the Year by the Father’s Day
Council Tucson. His top achievement,
he said, is his family. He’s also developed the HS Lopez Family Foundation.
“My wife and I have given millions to
charities. My goal is to have most of my
estate go to the foundation. Hopefully,
the foundation will be around for a long
time.”

Biz
Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 125

BizVISIONARY

We asked Mel Zuckerman to offer
advice to others who may be pursuing entrepreneurial visions of
their own. Zuckerman shared his
reflections with contributing writer
Pamela Doherty, as summed up
below.

PHOTO: CARTER ALLEN

1. Don’t do anything I did!
I had no strategic plan, no grand aspirations, no idea how to do what we wanted
to do. So I would say that it is always important to ask all of the right questions to
put the pieces together.

Mel Zuckerman
Tucson’s Restless Visionary
By Pamela Doherty
In his autobiography, “The Restless
Visionary,’’ Mel Zuckerman recounts
his haphazard navigation of personal
challenges and professional calamities
until age 50, and the defining moments
that paved the way for lasting change
and the founding of a world-renowned
wellness enterprise, Canyon Ranch.
Zuckerman, a CPA turned developer,
rode the hair-raising ride of the real estate booms and busts of Tucson in the
1960s and '70s. During a significant upswing, Zuckerman was able to capitalize
on IBM’s move to town in the late '70s.
By the end of that period, he had built
1,200 homes and 400 apartments. Yet,
he was unhappy and unhealthy.
His turn for the better came about
largely because Zuckerman made a determined decision to transform his life.
In 1978, Zuckerman and his wife, Enid,
formulated the idea for Canyon Ranch
in Tucson, a fitness resort that was ultimately established on 42 acres near Sabino Canyon.
The project began as “a start-up on
a shoe string,” and for the first 10 years,
Zuckerman went without a salary. He
was steeped in debt, yet confident about
the future. “We experimented, followed
126 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

our impulses and let trial and error
move us along,” Zuckerman wrote.
Ultimately, Canyon Ranch became a
standout in the spa industry with its earnest focus on health and well-being, and
in 1989 expanded to a second location
in Lenox, Mass. Ever in motion, Zuckerman continued to take calculated risks
to extend the Canyon Ranch brand
and advance the mission of promoting
healthy lifestyle choices.
In 1996, Zuckerman sold Canyon
Ranch’s land and assets in Tucson to
a real estate investment trust which
resulted in an influx of cash and a 50year management contract. By 2005,
the REIT deal was restructured to give
Zuckerman back 52 percent ownership,
and the Canyon Ranch enterprise had
additional potential ventures in excess
of $4 billion under consideration.
The recession hit shortly thereafter
and every prospective project fell by the
wayside. But Canyon Ranch continues
to flourish, and Zuckerman, now 84,
does the same.
Louisa Kasdon is the co-author of
“The Restless Visionary,’’ published by
Canyon Ranch Press.

Biz

2. Believe totally in
what you are doing.
In the beginning, Canyon Ranch was
all-consuming and required all hands on
deck. I ran the front desk, carried bags,
cleared tables. My wife made beds. We
did whatever we needed to do because
we felt passionate and we knew what was
possible.
3. Don’t be deterred
by naysayers.
You’ll come across people who want to
pronounce failure before you’ve even had
a shot at it, and bankers who are resistant
to providing venture capital to a business
that has no track record. I had my reservations sometimes, but Enid never ever
doubted that we would be successful.
4. Be prepared to risk it all.
This is important especially if you are doing something that has not been done
before. We did not have enough capital,
nor did we have any mortgage financing.
I risked every dime I made in the first 30
years of business. It was a very emotional
decision for me.
5. It takes a team to be successful.
From the beginning of Canyon Ranch,
three other people played major roles and
made all the difference: Enid, my true partner and wife of 59 years; Jerry Cohen,
my business partner, and Karma Kientzler,
the fitness expert who helped inspire my
belief system. And from the beginning we
hired the very best people we could, built
their trust and instilled our passion. Today
they are ultimately the ones who deliver
the life-changing, healing care at Canyon
Ranch.
6. There has to be luck. (Unless you
believe in divine providence, and
I’m not saying that I don’t.)
Of course, we worked really hard to make
our own luck. I don’t think the people who
have been coming back for 25-plus years
do so because of luck. I have to say, as I
walk around Canyon Ranch even now, living in paradise every day, I think I outdid
myself.

Expanded Facility
Increases BMW Sales
By Christy Krueger
A significantly larger facility and a strong team concept are
driving the recent success of BMW Tucson, according to Michael Famileti, general manager since November 2010.
His employees gave him a warm welcome from the start
and, in turn, he dishes out unending praise for them.
“I have such an incredible team. Without them we wouldn’t
have the success we do. It’s become a family,” he said.
That success has been measured in growth and recognition,
both inside and outside of Tucson. Since Famileti took the
helm, the dealership’s customer satisfaction rating has shot to
the top among BMW dealerships in the West.
“We’ve risen to the top tier of BMW dealerships nationally
in sales and service – and most importantly, the customer service index. This has never happened before with this store,” he
said. “We still have more to go but we are on the right track.”
BMW Tucson was also nominated as an Automotive News
Top 50 dealership. Selections are based on such criteria as
happy employees, sales, facility and customer satisfaction, he
said.
The move to the newly constructed building at on Wetmore
Road in December 2011 meant immediate growth.
“Our total interior is almost 46,000 square feet on 6.5 acres.
128 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

We were on 1.5 acres before (at the TucsonAuto Mall) with
less than 20,000 square feet. We went from 14 to 32 service
bays and have a car wash on the premises,” said Famileti. He
predicts his current staff of 68 will grow to more than 80 in the
near future.
The extra facility space is making an impact on new car
sales, this year tracking up by almost 27 percent over last year,
Famileti said. “The available inventory is the only thing holding us back. The good news is help is on the way. Because of
the new facility, we get allocated more inventory – but it takes
a few months to catch up.”
Though the building’s design was mostly dictated by BMW,
Famileti took the position of being earth friendly whenever he
could. “We played with BMW guidelines and used recycled
materials designed for the environment. We’re one of the only
auto dealers in Tucson with 100 percent UV windows.”
As a result, “we’re getting a Silver LEED award,” from the
U.S. Green Building Council. LEED stands for Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design.
The force behind BMW Tucson’s recent changes is AutoNation, which three years ago purchased the dealership, then
known as Don Mackey BMW. According to Famileti, AutoNawww.BizTucson.com

www.BizTucson.com

Photo: BalfourWalker.com

tion began acquiring new car dealerships 14 years ago and no longer owns
used car lots in Tucson. It’s the largest
dealer group in the U.S., with more than
250 new car franchises and more than
80 body shops.
BMW Tucson is AutoNation’s second
new car dealership in the area, after
Dobbs Honda, and Famileti said the
company is open to expansion. “If the
opportunity presents itself in our market, AutoNation would consider an acquisition.”
Famileti’s take on car buying trends is
that consumers have a pent up demand
after being cautious during the recession. “Shoppers now are looking for value even more. Customers ask poignant
questions on longevity, fuel economy
and costs.”
He believes the product he sells stands
out in the industry. “I drive a BMW, my
wife drives a BMW. It’s for people who
enjoy driving. I love the quality and feel.
I love the style and looks. The maintenance is included for free (for four years)
so the cost of ownership is less. BMW
has absolutely positioned itself to be the
best premium brand in the world. Last
year it was No. 1,” he said.

Being a part of the community is
important to Famileti and his team. In
fact many of the local charity projects
the dealership supports are suggested by
employees. They’ve ranged from a golf
tournament for the Tucson Alliance for
Autism to food and toy drives, plus a
fundraising project changing out license
plate holders that caught the attention
of Auto Nation, which donated to the
cause and presented Famileti and his
team with the company’s Community
Star award.

Famileti spends his free time with
family, enjoying museums, art, Formula
One racing and hiking. In view of the
long hours demanded by his job, he’s
become close to his staff and considers
them family as well.
“I’ve been doing this a long time and
I’ve never had such a loyal team as this
team and we have so much fun. Even in
a serious business, we laugh a lot.”

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Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 129

BizMEDICINE

Schroeder’s Goal:

Stopping the Spread of Breast Cancer
By Eric Swedlund
Joyce Schroeder anticipates the day when breast cancer
treatments will use a drug that attacks the spread of tumors
without harming the surrounding cells.
With a novel treatment that accomplishes just that in preclinical tests, the Arizona Cancer Center biologist received a
patent in 2010 and formed a biopharmaceutical company to
guide her drug through clinical trials to the market.
“For most cancer biologists, myself included, your ultimate
goal is to find a way to impact the disease,’’ Schroeder says.
“You’re always thinking about the patient and what they’re
going through and how you can take what you’ve learned and
make a meaningful impact on their lives.”
Schroeder’s research focuses on receptors and the difference between normal cell activity and the abnormalities that
lead to cancer. The drug her lab developed puts a control
mechanism back in place so cells will behave normally.
Schroeder’s company, Arizona Cancer Therapeutics, which
opened in May 2011, is working to secure financing for clinical trials of the drug PMIP, which stands for Protein Transduction Domain 4, MUC1 Inhibitory Peptide.
The FDA approval process will require a multi-million-dollar commitment. Schroeder is hoping to have Phase 1 clinical
trials of PMIP running within two years and to see her drug
working as well in humans as it’s proven itself in mice within
five years.
About 200,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed
in the U.S. each year and about 40,000 women die from the
disease annually, mostly from the cancer spreading to other
parts of the body.
Schroeder’s drug is designed to halt the metastasis by targeting a specific protein, which is overexpressed in more than 90
130 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

percent of breast cancer patients. Blocking this progression
restores normal protein activity in the cells, halting the spread
of a tumor.
Schroeder’s research team is also investigating whether the
success in targeting breast cancer could be applied to cancer
in other types of duct tissue, like colon, lung and pancreas.
In the course of her studies as an undergraduate at the University of Arizona and doctoral student in microbiology and
immunology at the University of North Carolina, Schroeder
narrowed her scientific interest from diseases in general to a
very specific subset of breast cancer patients.
“I started working in the field at a good time,” she said.
“There were good models being developed in the 1990s that
gave us tools to understand what causes cancer and that drew
me in. Cancer cells are unbelievably effective at evading what
we throw at them. The realization that this may work was
incredibly exciting.”
In February, Schroeder’s company received a $7,500 grant
from the Arizona Commerce Authority, seed money to help
prepare grant applications, like the Small Business Technology Transfer grant at the National Institutes of Health that
Arizona Cancer Therapeutics applied for in April.
Going from the lab to the business world has been a steady
learning curve for Schroeder and her husband and business
manager Todd Camenisch, an associate professor in the UA
College of Pharmacy. While she may have been reluctant to
form a company at first, Schroeder said it’s the fastest way to
get her drug to market.
“When we developed this drug, the day I got the first results
from our model that it’s working was one of those amazing
moments when your dreams come into your reality,” she said.

The University of Arizona awarded honorary degrees to
entrepreneur and venture capitalist Harry A. George and four
other outstanding leaders during a commencement ceremony
for master’s and doctoral students at McKale Center in May.
George, who has nearly 40 years of experience in creating,
operating and investing in successful rapid-growth technology
companies, received an honorary Doctor of Science degree
from the UA Eller College of Management.
He has worked as a director of 26 public and private companies and is currently director and chairman of High Throughput Genomics. He is among the founders of Tucson’s Desert
Angels and has been active with the Arizona Venture Capital
Conference, now known as Invest SW.
In 1995, he co-founded Solstice Capital, a venture capital
fund that invests in early-stage life science and technology
firms. Solstice Capital has invested tens of millions of dollars
in 44 companies since its inception.
From 1981 to 1989, George was involved as co-founder,
director and VP for Interleaf, a pioneer business in the field
of electronic publishing. In January 2000, Interleaf, valued at
about $1 billion at the time, was absorbed by Broadvision.
Prior to his involvement in Interleaf, George was a co-found-

er, director and VP for Kurzweil Computer Products, which
was purchased by Xerox Imaging Systems in 1980.
In addition to George, the following were recognized with
honorary degrees:
• Sergio Assad, a world-renowned classical guitarist, composer and teacher who has significantly impacted modern classical guitar.
• Emily Meschter, who after a successful career in finance
on Wall Street, has built a distinguished record as a philanthropist and supporter of education in Southern Arizona. The Emily
Meschter Early Learning Center in Flowing Wells Unified School
District is dedicated to Meschter for her contributions.
• Brian P. Schmidt, a UA alumnus and distinguished professor and laureate fellow at Australian National University, who
won a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011 for his work measuring
the change in the rate of expansion of the universe.
• Margaret Wilch, a UA master’s degree graduate who
worked as a biology teacher at Tucson High Magnet School
for 20 years. Among her accomplishments was teaching honors
research methods, a year-long course in which students did authentic scientific research, often in UA labs.

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Pest control services

New Patient Model
Based on Old-Time Medicine
By Gabrielle Fimbres
As a young child, Dr. Steven Wool
tagged along with his dad as the Illinois
physician made house calls and tended
to his patients.
“He was a practitioner in the oldtime tradition,” Wool said of his father,
Dr. Frohman “Buddy” Wool, now 91.
“He practiced ’til age 78, and talked
medicine until he was 85.”
Inspired by the personal touch his
father brought to the profession, Wool
attended Duke University School of

Medicine and settled in Tucson in 1980
for residencies in family practice and internal medicine.
After working in practices small and
large, Wool has returned to the model
he saw first-hand in his childhood –
when a doctor had time to get to know
patients.
In September 2011, Wool started
Personalized Health Care of Tucson.
In what he calls retainer medicine, patients pay an annual fee of $1,500 for

individuals and $2,500 per couple.
The fee includes an extensive annual physical, access to the doctor’s cell
phone number, occasional house calls –
yes, house calls – shorter wait times for
appointments and expedited referrals.
Also included are access to a nutritionist, psychologist, physical trainer, office
fitness facility, monthly health and wellness classes and more.
Instead of racing through patient
visits, Wool’s appointments last 30 min-

Cindy Wool Memorial Seminar on Humanism in Medicine
Following the death of his wife Cindy, Dr. Steven
Wool wanted to do something to make the journey easier for other families and patients experiencing illness.
Wool said humanism on the part of medical caregivers is a critical part of the process.
“The importance of physician empathy for patients
and their families is significant,” Wool said. “We all
have power to help.”
Following Cindy’s death in 2008 from complica132 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

tions from leukemia, Wool created the Cindy Wool
Memorial Seminar on Humanism in Medicine. The organization has sponsored three lectures, with support
from the Maimonides Society of the Jewish Federation
of Southern Arizona in conjunction with the University
of Arizona College of Medicine.
“We are educating young physicians on applying
humanistic skills in their daily practice, helping patients
deal with illness better,” Wool said.
www.BizTucson.com

utes. He knows his patients and understands their health issues.
“By having more time with patients
you can take care of chronic problems,”
said Wool, who has cared for many of
his patients for numerous years.
The model provides an opportunity
to educate patients about prevention.
Wool, an avid cyclist, stresses the importance of exercise and good nutrition.
He said he is fortunate to have witnessed great changes in medicine, including the development of life-saving
drugs and technological advancements.
With advancement, however, the
role of the primary care physician has
changed.
“The role of family practice is defined by insurance companies, and insurance involvement in health care has
risen exponentially,” Wool said.
“Physicians have a responsibility to
the patient to treat and provide care
and they have a responsibility to the insurance company to be cost effective,”
he added. “Sometimes those responsibilities are at odds. The physician’s role
has become gatekeeper for the insurance company.”

www.BizTucson.com

“

Patients want
to have closer
relationships with
their physicians.
Hopefully I can
create that.

”

– Dr. Steven Wool, Founder,
Personalized Health Care of Tucson

The move was also born from personal family tragedy. Wool and his
daughters, Rachel, Sonya and Lily, lost
their beloved wife and mother, Cindy
Wool, on Nov. 30, 2008, from complications from leukemia.
During the devastating experience,
Wool noticed a lack of humanism in
some of the care providers, with one
telling him to “chill” as his wife was in
the last weeks of her battle.
That experience convinced Wool to
seek a different model.
Giving up the big practice and work-

ing as a sole practitioner who knows his
patients is invigorating for Wool, whose
cell phone buzzes regularly with texts
from patients.
“It has given me back the same passion I had when I went into medicine,
emulating what my father did,” said
Wool, who keeps his dad’s old physician’s bag in his office. “It has allowed
me to practice in a way I enjoy.”
Wool is one of about eight Tucson
physicians to make the switch to personalized health care. One, Dr. Susan
Dixon, covers for him if he is out of
town.
“This is not care that is elitist,” Wool
said. “This type of care is helpful for
patients who are more chronically ill.
Patients like it because they have greater access.”
Other patients without chronic health
issues appreciate the personal care, with
an annual fee that is the equivalent of
about a latte a day.
“Patients want to have closer relationships with their physicians,” Wool
said. “Hopefully I can create that.”

70 Years in the
Numbers Game
By David B. Pittman
What do R&A CPAs in Tucson and the Royal & Ancient
Golf Club of St. Andrews in Scotland have in common?
Well, not only do both share the initials R&A, but both can
also boast of history, tradition and endurance.
OK, R&A CPAs cannot match the more than 250-year lineage of the R&A of St. Andrews. However, the roots of the
Tucson accounting firm can be traced back 70 years – which
by Southern Arizona business standards is a near eternity.
In 1942, the year R&A CPAs was founded as Aaron Paul &
Company, Franklin D. Roosevelt was president of the United
States, Joe Louis was heavyweight champion of the world,
Glenn Miller received the first-ever gold disc for selling 1 million copies of “Chattanooga Choo Choo” and Anne Frank
began writing her diary.
The population of Tucson seven decades ago was about
38,000. Restaurants, movie houses and stores of all kinds were
thriving in downtown Tucson, while Country Club Road was
considered the Old Pueblo’s far east side.
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Summer 2012

Aaron Paul started his Southern Arizona accounting business as soon as he graduated from the University of Arizona.
His first client was Sam Marcus of Marcus Mercantile in Nogales. Significant Tucson accounts soon followed.
Don Radakovich joined Aaron Paul & Co. in 1967 as a junior accountant making $500 a month. When Radakovich
came on board, Paul had just moved the firm to a new downtown building at 259 N. Meyer Ave., which today is home to
the law firm of Mesch, Clark & Rothschild.
After Paul’s death in 1970, the firm merged with Elmer
Fox & Co., a large national firm based in Wichita, Kan. That
same year, Henry Amado came on board as a tax manager.
Radakovich and Amado became partners in the firm in 1972
and 1974, respectively. In 1982, Radakovich became partner
in charge of the firm’s Tucson office.
In the mid-1980s, Elmer Fox & Co. was gobbled up by
Grant Thornton, a global giant headquartered in Chicago.
However, Grant Thornton’s stay in Tucson was short lived.
www.BizTucson.com

“Grant Thornton specialized in selling management services,” Radakovich said. “The Tucson market at that time
was proprietary. We served many high-net-worth people,
who owned businesses, and we did just about everything for
them personally from an accounting perspective, but they just
didn’t need a lot of sophisticated management services work.
As a result, Grant Thornton quickly lost interest in the Tucson
marketplace.”
In 1986, the partners acquired the firm from Grant Thornton and it once again became a Tucson-owned business operating as Radakovich and Amado. The partners at that time
were Radakovich, Amado, Greg Anderson, Jeff Stephenson
and Charlie Charvoz.
“We had to pay them (Grant Thornton) for clients we had
brought in over two decades,” Radakovich said. “We started
off as Radakovich and Amado, but every young partner we
brought in wanted his name on the door. It didn’t take long
before we needed a whole page for all the partners’ names.
That’s when we decided to shorten it to R&A CPAs.”
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the firm operated out of
several locations, all of which were in downtown Tucson. In
1989, the business moved to its present site at 4542 E. Camp
Lowell Drive.
Today, the partners of R&A CPAs are Radakovich, Tom
Furrier, Tariq Khan, Phil Dalrymple and Rudy Paredes. With
35 employees, R&A is among the largest accounting firms in
Tucson.
R&A CPAs reflects old-school business practices, such as

www.BizTucson.com

the value of building long-lasting and meaningful business relationships with clients.
“We often tell our clients that we want their hat, so we can
put it on and better understand what they’re all about,” said
Radakovich. “It isn’t really their hat we want, it’s their trust.
We need to know what they do, how they feel and what they
want so that we are in a position to utilize the expertise we
have and say, ‘if I were you, this is what I would do.’ ”
While most clients first come to the firm for a basic service,
such as a tax return or a financial statement, the relationship
often grows and strengthens over time.
Many long-term clients speak to R&A accountants about
their investment returns, spending patterns, charitable activities, educational goals and insurance needs. The accountants
at R&A often become trusted business advisors.
R&A is also on the cutting edge of the industry. In addition
to traditional accounting services – such as taxes, auditing and
business consulting – R&A also offers services including forensic accounting, federal acquisition regulations compliance,
international taxation and its new Integrated Business System
Division tailored to small business owners.
Now celebrating its 70th anniversary, the Tucson accounting firm that has operated under many incarnations has been
characterized by constant development.
“Today our firm is known as R&A CPAs and we’re just
getting started,” Radakovich said. “Just like the beach at the
ocean – we are always there, but ever changing.”

Biz

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 135

Parts shown are among more than 70 supplied by Sargent Aerospace & Defense for use in manufacturing the F-35.

Business Leaders Support
Bringing F-35 to Tucson

ILLUSTRATION: COURTESY SARGENT AEROSPACE & DEFENSE

BizAEROSPACE

By David B. Pittman
Lockheed Martin officials descended upon Sargent Aerospace & Defense in Marana recently to demonstrate the capabilities of the F-35 Lightning II, which is described as the
world’s most advanced military fighter aircraft.
They were greeted by an enthusiastic audience of Sargent
employees, elected officials, political hopefuls, business leaders
and news reporters, many of whom took the opportunity to
get behind the controls inside the cockpit of an F-35 flight
simulator.
Lockheed Martin, a leading global security and aerospace
contractor based in Bethesda, Md., brought it’s “road show”
to Marana and to Sargent, a leading supplier for the F-35
project. Sargent is designing and manufacturing more than 70
flight-critical components for the supersonic aircraft, including hydraulic valves and actuators, structural pins, specialty
bearings and pneumatic sealing devices.
“Sargent Aerospace & Defense designs and those of our
other Arizona suppliers are critical to the F-35 program, so
it is important that they have an opportunity to experience
this multi-role fighter’s superior performance capabilities,”
said Bob Rubino, director of the U.S. Navy F-35 Program
for Lockheed Martin. “The F-35 program will serve as the
cornerstone of global security and will significantly impact the
U.S. economy for many years to come.”
As the first F-35s are moving off the assembly line and being flight tested, there has been vociferous debate about where
the new planes should be stationed. Tucson opponents of the
F-35 complain that increased noise levels, vibration and flight
danger posed by the new aircraft make it unsuitable for deployment in Tucson.
136 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

Support of the Business Community

The F-35, however, has the strong support of the Tucson
business community.
The aircraft has the backing of both the Tucson Metro
Chamber and the Southern Arizona Leadership Council,
which claim it would be disastrous to the local economy if
F-35 training is not undertaken in Tucson.
“The 162nd Fighter Wing is the International F-16 Training Center for the U.S. Air Force,” said Ron Shoopman, president and CEO of SALC and a retired brigadier general who
formerly commanded the 162nd Fighter Wing.
“If the F-35 doesn’t come to the Air National Guard at
TIA, the entire wing is in jeopardy of being shut down,’’
Shoopman said. “It is critical we do everything we can to get
the Air Force to assign the F-35 to the 162nd Fighter Wing.”
The 162nd Fighter Wing employs 1,450 people and is
Southern Arizona’s 37th largest employer. The economic impact of the 162nd Fighter Wing is estimated to be between
$280 million and $325 million annually.
Michael Varney, president and CEO of Tucson Metro
Chamber, noted that the aerospace and defense industry in
Southern Arizona represents more than 20 companies providing in excess of $5 billion in annual revenues.
“We are trying to grow the aerospace and defense industry
in Southern Arizona,” Varney said. “Having the F-35 here is
a critical component of the future of that entire industry.”
Proponents of the F-35 say design and early manufacture
of the aircraft is already boosting the economy. With 17 Arizona suppliers, the F-35 program supports more than 1,100
direct and indirect jobs and more than $91 million in ecowww.BizTucson.com

“

The F-35 program
will serve as the
cornerstone of global
security and will
significantly impact
the U.S. economy for
many years to come.
– Bob Rubino
Director, U.S. Navy F-35 Program
Lockheed Martin

”

nomic impact across the state. Nationally, the F-35 program
has suppliers in 45 states and provides more than 140,000
direct and indirect jobs. These employment and economic
impact numbers will undergo huge increases as the program
moves from its initial stages into full-rate production.
“We believe the F-35 will strengthen our military, the
economy and, most importantly, our local economy,” said
Scott Still, Sargent’s president.
What Critics Say

Opponents say the “short-term benefits’’ of the F-35 don’t
outweigh the long-term cost to the environment.
“It makes no sense to base the loudest, most powerful, unproven fighter jet at a commercial airport, already a designated Superfund site, surrounded by the densely populated
cities of Tucson and South Tucson,” said a letter to the mayor and Tucson City Council from Tucson Forward and the
Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest, two groups
opposed to deployment of the F-35 in Tucson.
Rubino, however, provided global security and economic justification for the F-35 during his visit to Sargent. He
said emerging battlefield threats are making current military
fighter jets obsolete. One of those threats is surface-to-air
missiles, which he said are becoming extremely sophisticated
and are increasingly being used to deny access to critically
important air space. Rubino said the F-35 can penetrate even
missile-guarded air spaces because it has stealth capability.
Keeping Troops Safe

The F-35’s shape, embedded antennas, aligned edges, internal weapons and fuel, and special coatings all contribute
to the aircraft’s stealth capability.
“The F-35 is an information sponge,” Rubino added. “It
absorbs and sees everything that is going on around the aircraft in the battle-space environment. And that’s important
because it helps the pilot, our men and women in uniform, to
have better situational awareness of what is going on around
them so they can better execute their mission and have better
survivability.”
When it comes to establishing air superiority during wartime, most Americans want the United States to have a clearcut technological advantage, which is what the F-35 provides,
Rubino said.
continued on page 138 >>>
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Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 137

BizAEROSPACE
continued from page 137
“In the last 60 years, we have not lost
any ground troops to enemy aircraft because of our air superiority and our air
dominance,” he said. “That is directly
attributable to the U.S. services efforts
to continually modernize the fleet and
get the greatest capabilities possible.”
Rubino said DOD officials have insisted the F-35 must be affordable. One
way that is being accomplished, he said,
is by making the F-35 the jet fighter of
choice for the Navy, the Marine Corps
and the Air Force, rather than having a
different aircraft for each service. The
F-35 utilizes three designs to accommodate the different methods of landing and taking off used by the military
services.
Production Ramping Up

The F-35 is already being built, but
not in the numbers that will eventually
be reached when the aircraft reaches
full-rate production in six or seven
years. Currently, 153 aircraft have been
appropriated. The first 11 production
jets have been delivered to the Marine
Corps and the Air Force. The United
Kingdom and the Netherlands became
the first of 10 U.S. allies expected to
purchase the F-35.
“We are at a low-rate of production
right now,” Rubino said. “We are building three aircraft per month. By the end
of the year we will be building four aircraft per month. At the end of six to
seven years, we will be up to 18 to 20
aircraft per month – and that is when
you get to your economies of scale.
That equates to one aircraft coming out
of the factory door every working day.
That is where we need to get.”
When the F-35 reaches full production, Rubino said, it will cost about the
same to build as the aircraft it is replacing.
Still said the F-35 program is the reason Sargent’s 70,000-square-foot building just west of Interstate 10 in Marana
was built.
“We built this because of the JSF
(Joint Strike Fighter) and the future
business that is out there for our company and our employees,” Still said. “We
are growing and we are hiring good
aerospace employees for high-paying
jobs.”
Marana Key in
Sargent Expansion

Still said Marana Mayor Ed Honea
played a key role in making Sargent’s
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Summer 2012

www.BizTucson.com

expansion possible. “The Town of Marana’s dedication to keep Sargent here
and help us expand has been vital,” he
said.
Before becoming the first at the Marana event to hop into the F-35 cockpit
simulator, Honea, a U.S. Navy veteran,
said Sargent not only “creates wealth
in the region that passes through our
school districts, our fire districts and the
town, but it also brings our friends and
neighbors here and gives them a place
to work doing something that is really
of benefit to our community.”
Honea said it is important that
Southern Arizonans support the F-35
and the aircraft’s deployment to TIA.
“Bringing the F-35 here is important
because it would create jobs and put
wealth in our community,’’ he said.
Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild
and the Tucson City Council have yet
to take a position on the issue – which
is a sore spot among Tucson business
leaders backing the F-35 at TIA.
“Our country, our city and Tucson
International Airport all need the F-35
and the 162nd Fighter Wing,” said Bill
Valenzuela, owner of W.G. Valenzuela
Drywall and the state chairman emeritus for the National Committee of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.
“Takeoffs and landings by the 162nd
Fighter Wing are included with local
commercial air traffic at TIA in determining the amount of funds allocated
by the federal government for airport
improvements,’’ he said.
Varney said that if the F-35 is deployed for flight training by the 162nd
Fighter Wing, it would result in an infusion of more than $175 million in
federal construction dollars at TIA to
make improvements in preparation for
F-35 flights. He said that would create
1,800 to 2,100 new jobs.
Despite vociferous opposition to the
F-35 at three public hearings regarding
the possible deployment of the aircraft
in Tucson, both Valenzuela and Varney
maintain the vast majority of Tucsonans support the F-35 and the aircraft’s
deployment at TIA.
Varney said that if sentiments at the
three public meetings are any indication, “there is widespread community
support for the F-35, including (among)
residents currently living or working in
the flight paths at TIA.”

Biz
www.BizTucson.com

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 139

BizJOBS

Pharmacy
Customer Service
Facility Creating
400 Jobs
David B. Pittman
UnitedHealth Group is bringing 400 jobs to Tucson with
the creation of a new pharmacy benefits customer service
center.
OptumRx will hire new employees over the next year to 18
months.
The new OptumRx office, in the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park, is undergoing renovation, and is
expected to be ready for occupancy by mid-year. Recruitment
of new customer service representatives is expected to begin
later this year.
OptumRx – one of the Optum companies of UnitedHealth
Group – is the fourth-largest pharmacy benefits manager in
the United States. The company processes nearly 370 million
adjusted retail, mail service and specialty drug prescriptions
annually.
“We are strengthening the infrastructure of OptumRx in
advance of a major expansion early next year, and we especially appreciate the help and support that comes from the
outstanding workers and leaders of Arizona in that effort,’’
said Larry C. Renfro, executive VP of UnitedHealth Group
and CEO of Optum.
“I am pleased that Optum and UnitedHealth Group recognize Tucson’s high-quality workforce and Arizona’s excellent

PHOTO: CHANCE AGRELLA

Dirk McMahon
CEO, OptumRx

140 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

business climate.’’
“The hundreds of jobs Optum will create here over the
coming months show that Arizona is a premier destination for
the growth of innovative businesses such as Optum,’’ Arizona
Gov. Jan Brewer said of the announcement.
In addition to customer service positions, the company will
hire for positions involving training, workforce management
and quality management. The company expects the facility, which will serve millions of additional UnitedHealthcare
employer and individual health plan participants, to be fully
staffed by the end of 2013.
“The technology at this facility, along with the commitment
and know-how of our employees here, will help us fulfill our
mission of making the health care system work better for everybody,” said Dirk McMahon, CEO of OptumRx.
“An aging population and more people gaining access to
health insurance mean more Americans will be using more
prescription drugs, so the importance of our Tucson employees to our business will only increase,” he added.

Biz

Graybar Builds
$4 Million
Facility
By David B. Pittman
Graybar, a Fortune 500 company with more than 7,400
employees and 240 locations in North America, opened its
first-ever facility built to LEED specifications – in Tucson.
Graybar, a leading distributor of electrical communications
and data networking products and related supply chain services, broke ground on its new 55,000-square-foot $4 million office and warehouse facility in September 2011. The company
had a ribbon-cutting celebration opening the new structure in
May.
Graybar’s new Tucson branch features many of the green
technologies it distributes to its customers. For instance, the
new facility has an array of solar panels on its roof, energyefficient lighting and electric vehicle charging stations. The
company also furnished the building with furniture made
from recycled materials.
“We hope this facility serves as a shining example of sustainable and green practices within commercial properties
throughout the state,” said Craig Mead, Graybar’s district VP
from Phoenix.
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design. Graybar officials are working to secure, and are confident they will receive, LEED Silver certification for their new
Tucson building from the U.S. Green Building Council, which
typically waits several months after a business is occupied before issuing certification.
Larry Giglio, senior VP of operations based at Graybar’s
St. Louis headquarters, said Graybar has “a deep passion and
commitment for sustainability,” which the company demonstrates by “being responsible stewards of our resources, rewww.BizTucson.com

ducing our impacts on the environment
and providing sustainable solutions for
our customers.”
“Since 2007, we have completed over
100 lighting retrofits in our facilities and
reduced annual electricity usage by an
estimated 19 percent,” he said.
Graybar operated for the last 25
years at a building on Cherrybell Stravenue that is less than half the size of its
new facility. Steve Gosciminski, Graybar Tucson branch manager, said Graybar will sell the old building. He said the
move was necessitated by growth in the
company’s Tucson business.
Gosciminski said Tucson Regional
Economic Opportunities was “a great
resource for Graybar” throughout the
planning and construction of the structure. Joe Snell, president and CEO of
TREO, was on hand for Graybar’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“We are projecting an economic impact of more than $15 million over the
next three years as a result of this facility,” Snell said. “I know our elected
officials have to be grinning about this
because it is operations like this that fill
the tax coffers.”
Snell thanked Graybar for its “continued investment” in Tucson.
“We know from working with you
that you could have chosen a lot of
places to do this,” he said. “We are
thankful you chose to keep reinvesting
in Tucson, Arizona.”
Other dignitaries who attended the
Graybar grand opening were Secretary
of State Ken Bennett; Michael Varney, president and CEO of the Tucson
Metropolitan Chamber, and State Sen.
Linda Lopez, D-Tucson, whose district
includes the property where Graybar’s
new facility was built.
Graybar was founded in 1869. It has
been doing business in Arizona since
1935 and in Tucson since 1958. The
company has 37 employees in Tucson.
Graybar is engaged in the distribution of electrical and communications
products and integrated supply services primarily to contractors, industrial
plants, telephone companies, power
utilities and commercial users. All products Graybar sells are purchased from
others.
Biz

www.BizTucson.com

Multinational
Company Produces
Cleaner, Greener Energy
By Gabrielle Fimbres
A multinational solar company has
joined the Solar Zone at the University
of Arizona Science and Technology
Park, providing highly-efficient technology at a lower cost.
AstroSol has expanded its United
States presence with the move, bringing a new solar application to the Solar
Zone. Working with Astronergy module
manufacturer, the technology provides
for greater conversion efficiency using
fewer raw materials and less energy.
“We literarily hit the ground running,” said Carlos Mayer, COO of
AstroSol and managing owner of the
Tennessee partner vis solis. “This was
possible because of the great relationship Astronergy had built with the Tech
Park, Tucson Electric Power, North
American Development Bank and other stakeholders of the project.”
The 38.5-acre photovoltaic facility
uses thin-film, amorphous silicon modules mounted on a fixed-tilt racking
structure to generate 6.1 megawatts of
clean solar power.
With the industry`s average conversion efficiency between 6 and 8 percent,
the 9 percent conversion efficiency of
the thin film makes it highly competitive for use in large-scale applications,
according to the company..

AstrolSol is a wholly owned subsidiary of Solmotion GmbH, a German
solar developer. Astronergy, a Chinese
solar manufacturer of the CHINT
Group Company, is one of the major
shareholders in Solmotion GmbH and
in the solar project.
Solar panels are mounted on racking
structures produced in Tucson by Schletter. The installation was constructed
by Tucson’s Barker Morrissey Contracting.
Power generated from the facility will
be sold to TEP and provided to TEP
customers through a 20-year purchase
power agreement. AstroSol expects the
project to displace over 7,700 metric
tons of carbon dioxide and provide
enough electricity for about 1,000
homes per year.
With more than 25 megawatts of solar generation online already, TEP expects to expand that capacity to more
than 200 megawatts by the end of
2014.
“AstroSol’s array will produce clean,
green energy for our customers using
one of Arizona’s greatest natural resources – sunshine,” said David Hutchens, president of TEP and its parent
company, UNS Energy Corp.

Biz

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 141

2012 Cornerstone Award Winners

BizAWARDS

Cornerstone Building
Foundation Awards
By Sarah Burton
The 18th annual Cornerstone Building Foundation presented nine awards to
local members of the construction trade.
The idea behind the awards is to honor
a “dream team” within the industry each
year, including general contractors, architects, designers, professionals, suppliers and subcontractors.
More than 300 members of the industry attended the Cornerstone Awards
event at Tucson Convention Center,
sponsored by Southwest Gas, HenselPhelps General Contractors and BizTucson magazine.

The Cornerstone Building Foundation
seeks to bring together members of building and construction related industries,
as well as raise funds for scholarships and
education in the design and construction
fields. Since 1999 the organization has
donated more than $100,000 to scholarships and collaborative programs.
In 1994 the dean of the College of
Architecture at the University of Arizona, Robert Hershberger, brought together the Southern Arizona chapters
of the American Institute of Architects
and the Arizona Builders Alliance, form-

ing the nonprofit Cornerstone Building
Foundation. The group was later joined
by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Arizona, Society for
Design Administration, Southern Arizona Architects & Engineers Marketing
Association, Construction Specifications
Institute and the National Association of
Women in Construction. Members of
each of these groups, as well as corporate
sponsor Southwest Gas, comprise the
foundation’s board of directors.

PHOTOS: KRIS HANNING

Architect of the Year
Swaim Associates

142 BizTucson

Edward Marley

Phillip Swaim

Mark Bollard

Kevin Barber

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Summer 2012

This innovative firm started by Robert
Swaim continues its dedication to innovation while remaining true to the landscape and traditions of the Southwest
for public buildings, commercial spaces,
centers for health care and education,
as well as custom homes. The firm’s
award-winning team includes its three
principals – Mark Bollard, Edward
Marley and Phillip Swaim – plus associate principal Kevin Barber. A sampling
of current projects includes exterior
modifications to St. Mary’s Hospital,
several remodel projects for the University of Arizona Medical Center’s various campuses and a 30,000-square-foot
new LEED-designed building for Marana Health Center. LEED stands for
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a certification program of
the U.S. Green Building Council.

www.BizTucson.com

General Contractor of the Year
(projects in excess of $2 million)

CORE Construction Services of Arizona

PHOTOS: KRIS HANNING

With LEED Platinum projects including
UA Likins Hall and Arbol de Vida residential hall, and earlier the Integrated
Learning Center set underground in
the campus mall, this firm takes innovation in construction seriously, working
with developers, design professionals,
subcontractors and suppliers. The firm
also values sustainable practices and
construction, as a member of the U.S.
Green Building Council and with 18
LEED-accredited staff. The company
recently completed a remodel of the Arizona State University Student Union in
104 days. The building received LEED
Gold certification. Fred Knapp is VP of
CORE.

Donovan Kelly

Lynn Catalfamo

Eric Jacobson

General Contractor of the Year (projects under $2 million)
Division II Construction Company

Since 1982, Division II Construction Company has remained committed to providing excellent service and innovative plans to clients. Led by General Manager and
Senior VP Lynn Catalfamo, owners Dennis Cole and Robert Kline, and VPs Eric
Jacobson and Debi McCarthy, some of the company’s recently completed works include Marana Marketplace, the UA McKale Center corridor graphics and the men’s
basketball locker room, upgrades to the Bear Canyon Shopping Center and a remodel of the Arizona Health Science Center’s Department of Medicine.

Scott Rathbun

Design Consultant of the Year
Kelly, Wright & Associates

Owner of the Year
Tucson Electric Power/UNS Energy Corp.

Kelly, Wright & Associates, a consulting
mechanical engineering firm, creates
design solutions in the building process
for HVAC, plumbing and fire protection for commercial buildings such as
the Marana Municipal Complex, UA
Poetry Center, Tohono O’odham Museum and Mountain View High School.
Projects range from fire sprinkler systems and retrofit plumbing to multisystem and multi-story plumbing. Principals Buzz Wright, Donovan Kelly and
Burt Wright have worked on many sustainable strategies and designs, and several members of the firm are currently
seeking to become LEED Accredited
Professionals.

As a subsidiary of UNS Energy, TEP
provides power to more than 402,000
customers in Arizona, while secondary
subsidiary UniSource Energy Services
provides power and natural gas to more
than 237,000 others in 30 communities
across the state. As part of their commitment to the areas they serve, employees donate tens of thousands of hours
volunteering for the company’s Community Action Team. The companies
promote clean, sustainable resources
and focus on the efficient use of energy.
Scott Rathbun is director of corporate
facilities and security.

Susan Mulholland
Professional Service of the Year
Mulholland Art & Design Commercial
Interiors

Principal interior designer Susan Mulholland began Mulholland Art & Design Commercial Interiors in 1999 with
a commitment to transforming the work
spaces of her clients. With strengths in
design consultation, space planning,
lighting, window coverings, color and
finishes selection, as well as custom furniture design, she continues creating
spaces that are equally strong in functionality and aesthetics. Previous projects include Cascades of Tucson, Sierra
of Tucson, the Better Business Bureau
and Sunflower Village Center.

Summer 2012 > > > BizTucson 143

2012 Cornerstone Award Winners

PHOTOS: KRIS HANNING

Fred Knapp

Preston Achilles

Supplier of the Year
Dunn-Edwards Paints

Subcontractor of the Year
Achilles Air Conditioning Systems

As one of the largest employee-owned
manufacturers of paint in the Southwest, it makes sense that Dunn-Edwards
is the go-to supplier for members of the
building and design trades, as well as
homeowners. Although it began as a
wallpaper store in 1925, the company
now has stores throughout the region,
with 90 percent of its products used by
painting professionals and contractors.
Dunn-Edwards Paints is widely seen as
one of the greenest paint manufacturers
on the market. Sam Samaniego is architectural representative with the firm.

With more than 30 years in the business
in Southern Arizona, Achilles Air Conditioning Systems specializes in commercial mechanical systems, working
not only in HVAC but also renovation
and new construction projects, sheet
metal fabrication, maintenance and
preventative work, and both fabrication
and installation. The services offered
by this family-owned company headed
by Prestin Achilles cover the spectrum,
from small home offices to large businesses.

PHOTOS: KRIS HANNING

2012 Cornerstone Award Winners

Sam Samaniego

John Nyman
Jerry Wyatt Community
Service Award
John Nyman
Concord General Contracting

President of Concord General Contractingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tucson office, John Nyman
is the third recipient of the Jerry Wyatt
Community Service Award. The award
was created in 2011 to honor Jerry
Wyatt, a widely respected figure in the
Southern Arizona construction community, and to celebrate individuals who
continue to improve and support this
regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s construction industry as he did.
Nyman has been with Concord since
1993 when he came on as a project
manager. Ten years later his exemplary
work led to his being named company
president.

Biz

144 BizTucson

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Summer 2012

www.BizTucson.com

Photo: BalfourWalker.com

BizGOVERNMENT

Jonathon Rothschild
Mayor, City of Tucson

Mayor’s Work Plan Update
By Pamela Doherty

Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild developed a 180-day
work plan when he was running for office last year to outline
his focus for the first six months on the job if elected.
The plan organized priorities into four categories:
• Jobs and economic development
• Safe, vital neighborhoods
• Open government initiative
• Environmental leadership

As the target completion date for the work plan approaches
at the end of June, the mayor provided BizTucson with an update that highlights a few issues most closely aligned with the
business community. Rothschild will issue a final report and a
new,
extended plan in the coming months.
Small Business Advocate: “On my first day as mayor, I

hired Maricela Solis, former executive director of the Tucson
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, as the small business advocate. Maricela has accompanied me on multiple business
roundtables and has met individually with many business owners, troubleshooting on their behalf with city departments and
steering
them toward available resources.’’

Land Use Code: “We have reduced the city’s voluminous

land use code by almost 200 pages by eliminating ambiguities
and conflicts and turning it into a user-friendly document. We
expect
to review more draft modifications later this month.’’

Combo Inspections: “The city is currently using crosstrained building inspectors to conduct routine building inspections. This means one inspector is assigned to a project instead
of multiple inspectors for electrical, plumbing and structure,
etc. This saves home and business owners time and saves taxpayers
money.’’

Mayor-Business Roundtables: “I have held multiple business roundtables throughout town with various groups, including the chambers of commerce, women’s, minority and small
business
groups and others.’’
Recruitment, Retention and Entrepreneurship: “I have
met with many local business owners and with employers who
are thinking of relocating to Tucson, and I have also met with
organizations that help entrepreneurs. They appreciate the
attention they’re receiving from the city and I appreciate the
feedback
I can pass along to staff.’’

Tucson Trade Initiative: I’m setting up a Mayor’s Advisory
Council to help drive federal, state and local policies that support international trade.

Biz

Rothschild’s First 180 Days
By Pamela Doherty
After nearly 180 days in office, Tucson
Mayor Jonathan Rothschild has learned
more than a few things about this so
called “parttime” job.
“Before I was elected I said I would
never cut a ribbon, but a big part of the
job is about ceremony, as well as communication, in addition to the substantive
work we as mayor and council have to
www.BizTucson.com

do,’’ he said.
He sees the Tucson City Council working together to build consensus. “We
have different points of view, but I’ve
seen that it’s not difficult to get people to
stay constructive. Even when we tackled
the issue of the University Overlay District, which eventually passed with a 7-0
vote, we were never in a deadlock.’’

Rothschild said he meets frequently
with employees in different city departments. “I’ve got two words: public service. No one is in it for the money.”
The mayor’s part-time position is really
a 14-hour-a-day job, he said.
“When you hold this office, you had
better love it.’’

The JOBS Act, signed into law on April 5, will make it easier
for Southern Arizona small and emerging businesses to raise
capital by reducing the burden on businesses of complying
with certain U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules
and regulations.
The act takes a multi-pronged approach â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from removing
the ban on general solicitation in connection with accredited
offerings, to providing an IPO on-ramp for emerging growth
companies, to creating a new exemption for investment-based
crowdfunding.
For private offerings in particular, eliminating the prohibition on general solicitation for accredited offerings under Rule
506 and the new exemption from registration for crowdfunding securities each represents a significant change to existing
law.
Eliminating the prohibition on general solicitation will,
among other things, allow startups, private equity firms and
hedge funds to advertise their investment opportunities to the
general public online and through traditional media. Prior to
the act, these firms could only accept investments from people
with whom they have a preexisting, substantive relationship
(although this requirement has always been a gray area).
Now, subject to SEC rulemaking, these firms can market
securities offerings through television, newspaper and online
advertising, so long as the end result is that only qualified inves-

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Summer 2012

tors ultimately purchase the securities offered.
Likewise, the new exemption for investment-based crowdfunding is poised to become a game-changer for raising money online. Crowdfunding refers to the act of raising money in
small increments from a large number of investors.
Donation-based crowdfunding is already experiencing explosive growth, through the use of websites like Kickstarter
and IndieGoGo. The JOBS Act will take crowdfunding to the
next level by allowing individuals to loan money to or buy stock
in private ventures through special SEC-registered websites.
Despite these opportunities, the act is not without its critics, who argue that it needlessly strips away important investor
protections and that it will encourage an outcropping of boiler
rooms and bucket shops.
Supporters, however, argue that securities rules and regulations are outdated and too complex for small issuers and do
not reflect the modern realities of the Internet and social media. They also argue that the JOBS Act will create jobs by encouraging the growth of small and emerging businesses.
Time will tell whether the act creates jobs or engenders
fraud, but in the meantime, Southern Arizona entrepreneurs
looking for additional capital should determine whether new
opportunities to raise money created by the JOBS Act are right
for them.
Biz
Nick Jensen is an associate attorney with Lewis and Roca in Tucson.